Lies of Truth
by numbah 1 HPFan
Summary: Can things get any worse? Kailey seems to think so; she's doing her best to help as the Golden group struggles through their 5th year. Keena and the Order are doing their best to fight against Voldemort, but is it enough? larger summary inside, P6 after Forgotten Secrets Enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

Lies of Truth

Chapter One: Memories

**I officially disclaim any and all characters and events recognized. It probably all belongs to JK Rowling. All of it. **

**Summary: Okay, so this is Part 6 of my series of stories and if you made it this far, I'm very pleased and impressed. If you've read all of my other stories, you can probably leap into chapter one, if not, here's what's going down. Kailey Snape, daughter of Severus Snape, is best friends with Harry, Ron and Hermione and last year she and Harry competed as a duel team in the Triwizard Tournament. Her mother is American, so Kailey was raised in America as a muggle since Snape didn't know of her existence until after her mother left him. She has access to the Harry Potter books and is just now getting a hold of book seven for the first time, meaning she knows the future, or at least the general future. Certain things, however, have changed.**

**This is because at the end of her second year she was sent back in time and developed a second soul who became Keena McIntosh Potter, sister of James Potter. She, Remus and Lily created a spell that summons the soul back to the body, saving James and Lily. They are alive, but most of the world doesn't know it. Keena is currently eight months pregnant and she and Sirius are engaged. Just after the Easter holidays, though, they magically adopted first-year Ravenclaw, Alianna Anderson, whose muggle grandmother was murdered by Voldemort in an attempt to get at the little girl because she is a seer. **

**If I left out anything important let me know in a review and I will either answer your question or direct you to the appropriate chapter of whichever story has the answer, probably both. **

**Enjoy!**

_Kailey's Point of View: _

I stared up at the yellow house in front of me. The shutters were still maroon and the grass in the yard was still greener than the yard next door. The garage door was open and one of the cars was new. The minivan they used to have was gone. After all, you don't need a minivan when you only have one child.

"Guys, I don't know if I can do this," I said, shaking my head and running a hand through my waist-long dark brown hair and pulling it over my shoulder. I looked down and stared at the blue streak dejectedly for a moment before lifting it back into a ponytail. I looked beside me from Harry, who gave me a sympathetic look, to the glamoured Lily on my other side, who sighed, brushing some of her blonde hair away from her face.

"You need to, Kailey," she answered, placing a hand on my shoulder. "Besides needing those books, you need the closure with your mother,"

I shut my eyes and sighed.

"C'mon, Kailey, the sooner we get this over with, the sooner we can go home," Harry said, wrapping an arm around my shoulder and leading me up the driveway to the front door.

I raised my right hand to knock, since my left wrist was still wrapped in bandages, and hit the door three times. A shout from behind the door was followed by running footsteps. I readjusted the bag on my shoulder which already contained the seventh book. Lily, Harry and I had hunted it down this morning. The door opened as my twelve-year-old brother answered. He was taller than I remembered him being, but I hadn't seen him in two years. Still, it surprised me that we stood at eye-level.

"Kailey?" he asked, his hand sliding off of the door. His eyes flickered first to my hair, then to Harry's arm around my shoulder, but then they glued themselves to the jagged scar that marked the left side of my face.

"Hey Kaleb," I said lifting my mouth into a weak smile. "You grew,"

His brown eyes slanted as he frowned at me. "Yeah…um…what are you doing here?"

"Can't I visit my own family?" I answered, my smile slipping off of my face.

"Well, you haven't exactly been around…at least not for a wicked long time," he answered, his gaze flashing towards Lily as though it had been her fault. "Mom said you weren't ever coming back," he added, looking at me again. "And what happened to your face and hair? You know dad doesn't like it when girls dye their hair funny,"

"I've been at school, you know," I answered a little evasively. Kaleb didn't think I was really a witch, he just thought that that was mom's excuse for keeping him home.

He rolled his eyes. "Yeah, learning how to change people into toads, right?" he shook his head and I sighed.

"Something like that," I mumbled. "Anyway, can Mrs. Patterson, Harry and I come in? Or is mom here?"

"Yeah, sure," he said, stepping aside before turning his head. "MOM! It's for you!" he shouted up the stairs that were just inside of the doorway.

I didn't realize that I was holding my breath until it all left my lungs in a gust as my mom appeared at the top of the stairs. She stared at me for what seemed like hours, though it probably wasn't much more than a few seconds. She came down the stairs slowly and I looked at her to see how the past two years had changed her.

Her hair was shoulder length now and straighter than I had remembered, but once brown it was now mostly gray. No wrinkles marked her face yet, but she looked tired for some reason, even though shock was the dominant expression on her face.

"How did you get here?" she asked when she reached us on the ground level. "I thought you lived with…him,"

I focused on breathing deeply. "I did. But thanks for telling me about him," Lily brushed hands with me in silent reprimand, but at least I hadn't snap at her. "I live with Mrs. Patterson and her family now," I continued.

Mom nodded slowly. "I was told you were with a Ms. Potter…"

"Professor Potter is Mrs. Patterson's cousin's friend. They consider each other family," I said shortly.

She glanced at Harry. "And who is this?"

"I'm Harry Potter, Professor Potter's nephew," he explained, removing his arm so that he could offer to shake my mom's hand. "It's nice to meet you, Mrs. Macauley,"

"You as well," she replied, a little distantly as she accepted the handshake. "Are you two—?"

"No," I interrupted, even though Harry had replaced his arm around my shoulders.

She bit her lip, clearly noting how I was quickly losing my patience. That made me angry. She shouldn't be getting upset, she should be mad at me for being here when she didn't want me. I should be upset. Not her.

"What happened to your hair?" she asked instead of pressing for more details.

"Potions accident," I answered.

"No, seriously, Kailey, what happened?" Kaleb asked, leaning against the banister as he rolled his eyes again. But mom nodded. She believed my lie.

"And…when did you get that cut?"

"The scar?" I asked, pointing to my face with my wrapped hand. "Same night I broke my wrist. During that tournament,"

She frowned at me. "And when was this?"

I shrugged and glanced at Lily. "I don't know, mom, a few weeks ago? You know you could have gone. You could have at least shown up to that, Dumbledore could've figured out a way to get you in even if you are a muggle,"

"Travel is expensi—"

"Portkeys are free," I snapped, shrugging out from under Harry's arm and stepping forward. "Why didn't you tell me about him, mom? You had twelve years to tell me, but you never said a single word!"

"Kaleb," she said, glancing at him. "Go outside with your father, he needs help in the back yard,"

"Why—?"

"Go,"

Grumbling, Kaleb left the room, slamming the door to the garage behind him. Mom walked past me and shut the front door before turning around.

"Don't you dare bring that man up in front of my son," she ordered.

I snorted and rolled my eyes. "Or what?"

"Kailey," Lily warned, speaking for the first time.

"Excuse me, but I can discipline my own daughter," mom turned her glare on Lily, who raised an eyebrow at her.

"What are you gonna do?" I asked. "Make me go to my room? You don't have any authority over me anymore, you gave it all up, remember? Does Kaleb's dad even know that he isn't mine? Or does he just not care because I'm a witch?"

"Do not speak to me like that, young lady, I'm your mother," she commanded, her patience waning fast.

"Barely," I growled. "It was bad when dad had to give me up, but at least he still speaks to me and cares about me. I just got finished with the worst year of my life and _you weren't there_. But I don't need you, not anymore. I've got Libby and Keena now."

She sneered at me. "Girlfriends of your father's then?"

"Don't you dare talk about dad like that," I glared, my right hand twitching as though aching to grab my wand. "He hasn't looked at another woman ever since you left him fifteen years ago."

She scoffed. "Get out of my house; you're not the daughter I raised."

"I'm every bit the daughter you raised, mom, and better," I snapped.

"No. You are not my daughter, I don't have a daughter now," she stated, her eyes flashing with anger. My heart froze in my chest and my angry glare fell off in favor of jaw-dropping shock. "Get out of my house before I call the police,"

"Kailey, take Harry and run and get your books," Lily said, placing a hand back on my shoulder. "Go on," she said, giving me a gentle push when I stumbled towards the stairs, still staring at the woman who had rejected me. "I would like a word with you, Mrs. Macauley,"

The shouting match that ensued below us was muffled when I shut my old bedroom door behind us. I leaned against the door and gazed into the pink room. The bed was neatly made, but the covers looked like they belonged to a guest bed; they weren't the rainbow polka dots I had left behind. My dolls had disappeared from the room, but I could see a stuffed animal poking out from under the bed. I went over to it and pulled out the soft, brown teddy bear, hugging it to my chest as I tried to contain my tears. I was not about to let her see me cry.

"Kailey," Harry started but I gave him a look and he stopped.

"Don't Harry," I said as I walked around the bottom of the bed and gathered up the fifth and sixth books in my arms, keeping a tight hold of the bear. Nobody else in this house would need it anyway. I stuffed all three items into my bag before I turned to face him again. "I'm sorry about her; she never used to be this way with me…she makes quite the impression, though, huh?"

He frowned at me and took the bag onto his own shoulder, swinging it behind him before he pulled me into a hug. "She's just angry, and so are you. C'mon, let's get mum and get out of here," I took a deep breath and nodded.

We hurried back down the stairs and just as both women were taking a breath to begin their yelling again, I took a hold of Lily's arm, tugging on her sleeve and saying, "Let's go,"

We walked out of the house and headed to the corner of the street. None of us looked back as Lily activated the portkey Dumbledore had given to us for our trip. This was the last time I would ever bother visiting my homeland and I was glad of it.

The portkey took us straight to Potter Mansion and the moment my feet slammed into the ground I broke down in tears, sobbing.

"What in Merlin's name?" Remus asked, sitting up in alert at his seat at the kitchen table in a panic. He and Alianna appeared to be having a chess match with James sitting next to her, meaning Sirius and Keena weren't back from their own trip yet.

"What the bloody hell happened?" James continued as Lily pulled out a chair at the table and sat me down.

I only shook my head and buried my face in my hands.

"I'll tell you later," Lily answered, rubbing soothing circles on my back. "Twinkle," she called out. A small pop announced the arrival of a house elf dressed in a tea towel with the Potter seal stamped across it. "Could you get us some hot chocolate and tea please?"

The elflet bobbed a curtsy before trotting into the kitchen to prepare the drinks. Alianna, meanwhile, had gotten up and pulled her chair so that it was right next to me. She sat down and took one of my hands away from my face. "I'm sorry you fought with your mum," she said quietly. "She just doesn't know how good of a person and how strong of a witch you are. She'll see it someday, whether she wants to or not. It's really very silly of her, especially because it means she's taking you away from your younger brother, even if he is a muggle,"

I stared at the little girl. "Alianna, how did you know I have a little brother?"

"Dreamed it," she answered with a shrug. "But he'll be angry that your mum yelled at you and made you leave. He misses you. If you want to keep being a big sister, though, I'll pretend to be your little sister. That way, I can see how I should act when Aradia gets here,"

"Can you see when that will be?" I asked, sniffling and accepting a tissue from a different house elf who had come down to see what Twinkle was up to.

She smiled. "Almost, I can see mum holding her sometimes but other times I just see a lot of crying," she frowned for a second. "I see the holding more, though, so I _think_ it's okay,"

I sighed and accepted the mug of hot chocolate from Lily, who was red-headed once again. I took a cautious sip before placing the mug on the table and pulling my bag towards me. "I guess I'd better get started on this then, see if I can't figure out something important,"

* * *

_Keena's Point of View: _

I stared up at the decrepit brick London house in front of me. It looked even less inviting than it had the day we had gone to rescue Sirius from his parents and a Death Eater recruiter back in the summer before our sixth year.

The windows looked as though they were boarded shut as I scanned the outside for any broken glass. I sighed, rubbing my stomach with my left hand, while holding onto Sirius' with my right. I really didn't like this idea.

"I wish we hadn't already used Potter Mansion once," I muttered under my breath. Sirius squeezed my hand in reply, but didn't answer aloud.

"It's the last place they'll suspect," he said, leading us up the steps and opening the door with a shove. We went inside and the temperature seemed to drop several degrees. The door slammed shut behind us.

"WHO DARES ENTER THE NOBLE AND MOST ANCIENT HOUSE OF BLACK?" I jumped and covered my ears while Sirius swore explosively next to me. I looked straight in front of me down the hall to find myself staring at a portrait of a severe looking woman, wrinkled and pale. She caught sight of Sirius and her face morphed into unrecognizable fury. "YOU! THE SHAME OF MY FLESH? YOU DARE ENTER THIS HOUSE AFTER ALL YOU HAVE DONE? LEAVE! LEAVE AT ONCE!"

"It's my house now, and I'll use it as I please," Sirius replied, and I could see the tension in his face as he tried to keep himself in check. I squeezed his hand reassuringly. "Besides, that's no way to speak in front of my pregnant fiancé," he added with a wicked grin.

His mother's face froze in shock as she opened her mouth to scream again. She looked at me and frowned. "Pregnant, you say?"

"Eight months," I replied with a grin, looking up at Sirius and winking.

"And the bastard child will be half-blood won't it?" the portrait asked, looking ready to scream again.

"My daughters are not bastards, mother," Sirius stated, somehow keeping calm.

"Twin girls?" the portrait was struggling to remain angry at the prospect of grandchildren. Perhaps she wasn't as inhuman as I thought.

"No," I answered. "Our oldest is twelve, she isn't with us,"

"You were in Azkaban!" she shouted angrily. "The house elf informed me when you were arrested,"

"We adopted her," Sirius replied, rolling his eyes. "She's ours by blood now,"

"And what blood is that? Dirty blood! Awful enough it is knowing you have survived when Regulus did not! But you dare breed in dirty blood?" she shrieked.

"Last I checked, the Potters were an older family than ours," Sirius answered evenly.

"They have no daughters!"

"Not by birth, but by adoption," I answered. "And I'll thank you not to scream about it in front of Alianna or scream at all in fact. Especially when the baby is here,"

The portrait glowered at us. "Your blood is pure?"

"Will you keep your mouth shut if I say yes?" I answered, glaring back at her. She answered with a stiff nod. "Then yes, by your standards, I am a pureblood,"

She huffed and crossed her arms. "When will I meet my eldest granddaughter?"

"If it were up to me, you wouldn't," I grumbled.

"We're not sure," Sirius answered aloud for her, though his lips twitched at my grumbling. "We need to make sure this house is…inhabitable first,"

"And you brought your pregnant fiancé to do this with? No, she stays here. Take Kreacher with you to search the house, you will not go endangering my grandchildren," her tone was harsh and she all but shouted the order, but at least she wasn't calling the baby a bastard anymore.

"He's still alive?" Sirius asked, sounding a little shocked to be honest

"Of course he is! KREACHER!" she shrieked.

A sound like a cracking whip rang through the house and the hunched over house elf appeared before the portrait. "Mistress calls Kreacher, and Kreacher comes right away to Mistress," he wheezed, glancing over his shoulder at Sirius and me. "The disgraced son returns with a fattened woman? What is he doing here, Kreacher wonders?"

"Fattened?" I asked, frowning and looking down at my stomach. I was pregnant, certainly, but fat? Honestly?

"My fiancé is _pregnant_ with one of _your_ future mistresses, Kreacher," Sirius growled.

"The disgraced son dares to breed?"

"Enough, Kreacher," Mrs. Black snapped. "Close your mouth on this matter; she is pureblood, that is all that matters,"

"Kreacher will say no more, Mistress, no more of this girl and her size," Kreacher replied, bowing low to the portrait. Sirius brought a hand to his forehead, mumbling something about whether or not murdering a crazy elf would be considered humane or not.

I gazed down at my stomach again as the baby gave a particularly good kick. I sighed. This was going to be a long summer.

* * *

_Kailey's Point of View: _

Harry dropped his broom on the ground before flopping down on the grass next to me. "You've done nothing but read for the past month," he said, leaning over to shut the book. I looked up at him, trying to glare, but it didn't really work when he stuck his tongue out at me and I laughed. "I'm amazed you haven't got it all memorized yet,"

I snorted. "Yeah, memorize all eight hundred and seventy pages. Definitely on my to-do list, Harry. Besides, I'm not just reading anymore, I'm looking to see what can and can't happen,"

His brow furrowed and he sat up a little straighter. "Can't?"

"Yeah," I nodded. "For example, are you or are you not with the Dursley's at this moment in time?"

He gave me a look that clearly said do-I-really-have-to-answer-that-?

"Exactly, but that isn't the only thing," I said, my voice gaining intensity as I continued. "I have to pick and choose what I tell people about…I have to warn them when I can. Stop them from…from…"

He sighed and scooted closer to me, pulling me into a hug. "You had another nightmare last night, didn't you?" I buried my face in his shoulder and nodded. "Me too,"

"Harry! Kailey!" I looked up to see Alianna floating above us, looking determined, if a little unsure as she kept her broom steady. "Won't you come up?

"Yeah," Harry called back. He looked back at me, releasing me from our hug. "C'mon, we'll get our minds off of things," he said standing up before holding a hand out to me.

I looked between him, the book and Alianna still waiting in the air before sighing. "Alright, just let me put this back inside so I don't leave it out by accident,"

The three of us flew around for hours, though Harry spent most of the time teaching Alianna dangerous tricks that would make Keena scream if my reactions were anything to go by.

"Harry! Don't tell her that!" I shouted as he explained how to do a Wronski Feint, which he'd taught himself just a few days earlier.

"It isn't dangerous," he called back as I flew over to them, glaring at him.

"Oh no, not at all, it might only kill her," I glared, though Alianna giggled.

"Somebody's in trouble," she sang happily.

"And somebody else will be in trouble once her mother hears about this," I said, shifting my stern look over to Alianna. She blinked at me.

"You wouldn't," she stated.

"Of course I would," I grinned. "Wouldn't I, Harry?"

He thought it over for a moment. "Yeah, she probably would,"

Alianna rolled her eyes. "Fine, I won't try anymore tricks if they make you scream," she said, grinning at me when I blushed.

"I didn't scream,"

"Yes you did," Harry said, nodding in agreement with the younger girl. "Loudly,"

In all my maturity, I stuck my tongue out at him.

The two cousins laughed at me and I couldn't help but grin back at them. "What's going on up there?" We looked down to see Keena gazing up at us from just outside the back door.

"MUM!" Alianna shouted, zooming towards the ground, Harry following at the same break-neck speed. I chose to amble along and enjoy the breeze. "You're back early!" she shouted happily, dropping her broom on the ground as she landed in order to give her mother a proper hug.

"Yes, I'm back early," Keena laughed, hugging Alianna tightly before releasing her. "Don't you remember why?" she teased. I frowned and swapped a confused glance with Harry, who shrugged.

"Oh," Alianna said slowly. "But that won't be fun,"

"What won't be fun?" Harry asked as Keena bit her lip.

"We really should have taken care of this last year," Keena began, hedging. "But no one at the Ministry had bothered us over it until now. They're saying that the guardian exchange between Sirius and me with the Dursleys is invalid since Petunia and Vernon never actually 'agreed' even though we know that they'll let us have you in a heartbeat," she explained. "I was telling Dumbledore yesterday why I'd need to come back here early and Alianna overheard," she finished giving Alianna a look, though the eleven-year-old only shrugged.

"I'm a Marauder's daughter now," she smiled. "No, I'm two of the Marauders' daughter," she amended when Keena raised an eyebrow at her.

"I knew we shouldn't've told you three those stories…" she mumbled to herself.

"So they sent just you back early from…wherever you go during the day?" Harry asked, pausing for a moment as he fished for information. The letters from Ron and Hermione were mildly annoying compared to the hints I had been dropping, or so he told me. If you asked me, though, Alianna was worse, if only because she would begin to say something to him, glance at me and then just stop, grinning wickedly.

"They did," she answered evenly. "I just came back here for a moment to check up on the three of you when I heard Kailey scream…" she trailed off, looking at me questioningly.

"Harry was doing dangerous stunts that could possibly leave an impression on little Ali, here," I smiled happily while the other two glared.

Keena nodded. "I see…and did my little angel," she said the words with her sweetest voice, "attempt said dangerous stunt?"

I didn't answer right away, smiling at the two of them as they stared at me with pleading, wide eyes. "Nope,"

Keena chuckled, shaking her head. "Well then, would anyone like to come with me to the horrifying world of number four Privet Drive?"

This time Harry and I exchanged glances of disgust. "If I ever have to see them again, it will be too soon," Harry answered, shaking his head.

"One angry family member is more than enough for me," I said, with a nod. "Count me out,"

"I'll go with you, mum," Alianna offered smiling at her before sticking her tongue out at the two of us.

"Alright," she shrugged. "Lily should be home soon," she added as she and Alianna began to head for the door. "There's a load of paperwork, so if we miss dinner, don't be surprised. In fact, the two of you should go in; the sun's setting,"

Harry gave an exasperated sigh, but I shouldered my broom without argument. I had no desire to be outside after sunset in any case. We followed Keena inside as Alianna sprinted for the stairs to grab a light jacket. The two of us leaned our brooms against the wall as Harry shut the door behind us. I grabbed my book off of the desk that sat just inside the doorway, stroking the spine for a moment before flipping through some of the first chapter.

"Keena?" I called as she continued to head for the kitchen to floo to…actually, where was she going to floo?

"Yes, Kailey?" she called back.

"Where are you flooing from?" I asked, heading for the kitchen so I could talk with her face to face. Harry followed with a confused expression on his face.

"That is actually a very good question," he muttered.

"D'you remember Mrs. Figg?" Harry nodded. "Her place, she's a squib,"

"Huh…it might explain the cats,"

"What's wrong with having cats?" I asked, glancing towards the hallway where a soft 'meow' had just sounded.

"Nothing," he replied. "She just had so many of them…and she was always a little odd,"

"You're either inferring that cat ladies are odd or that squibs are odd," I pointed out. "I highly doubt that there's any sort of correlation,"

He rolled his eyes at me as Alianna came skipping into the room.

"Is that all you needed Kailey?" Keena asked, placing a hand on Alianna's shoulder to stop the girl from bouncing.

I paused, glanced at my book again and sighed. "Just…please be careful. Like, obnoxiously careful to the point that you're nearly paranoid, alright?"

She narrowed her eyes at me and I sighed in frustration.

"There's no reason for anything to happen…but that doesn't mean it won't still happen…just, be careful," I gave her a pleading look, my eyes flickering to Alianna's confused expression for a moment.

She looked up at her mother, shrugged and Keena sighed. "We'll be safe, Kailey, I promise,"

I bit my lip and nodded and the two of them flooed away in a blur of green flames. I looked up at Harry who was staring at me, one eyebrow raised.

"There's no reason for anything to happen to them there," I repeated, sighing when he continued to give me a look. "Like I was saying earlier; you aren't even at the Dursleys' house anymore,"

* * *

_Keena's Point of View: _

Alianna requested to see where Remus and I had lived while Harry had been growing up with the Dursleys. As a result, the two of us were now strolling towards the playground where so many of the pictures of Harry on the mantle came from at Potter Mansion. She was currently alternating between running ahead before skipping back to me and holding my hand, laughing the whole time. I smiled at her, but then I heard laughter coming from the direction of the playground. My only issue with it was that when I looked up I spotted several teenage boys, one of them flicking a cigarette to the ground as he glanced up to see us approaching.

"Hey! Big D!" he called and the largest of the boys in the center of the group turned around where the boy pointed. "Fresh meat!" the others howled with laughter as Alianna rushed back to me, hiding behind me while taking a hold of my left hand. My right was inside of my pocket, gripping my wand.

I was about to turn away when a car passed by, shining light into the group momentarily. I sighed in relief, giving Alianna's hand a gentle squeeze before calling out. "Dudley Dursley?"

The boy named 'Big D' stopped laughing and stared, as did the others. Either he couldn't tell who I was from this distance or he just didn't remember. Regardless, he was much less threatening since it would be easy to remind him of who I was. He wouldn't do anything too stupid.

"What of it?" he called back, though he sounded a tad uncertain as I began walking towards the group again, Alianna following close behind me.

"Going to make a pregnant woman walk the whole way?" I returned when I was halfway to the group. He hesitated, but started to walk towards us regardless, though his friends hung back a bit.

He had grown since I had last seen him, but not terribly far upwards. His blonde hair reminded me slightly of Lily when she had her glamour on, but only due to the shade of color. The rest of him was much too vast to show any relation between either her or Harry.

"Who are you?" he asked without preamble as we came to stand face to face.

"I'm hurt, Dudley, how could you forget me?" I asked, smiling sweetly. "Harry says 'hello', by the way," I added and the recognition flickered in his eyes.

"What do you want with me?" he all but squeaked.

I laughed at that. "Nothing, really, I just need some signatures from your parents. Legal things," I waved a hand dismissively. "But we'll need a witness of sorts and I'd let Alianna here sign, but she's a little young,"

He glanced down at my daughter, who had moved to stand next to me. "I'm not of age…" he trailed off.

"Then perhaps you would just accompany us back? It's getting darker, after all,"

The warning from Kailey was fresh in my mind and whatever my feelings toward the Dursleys were, I wouldn't wish ill on them. Unless I was the one delivering the punishment, that is. He shoved his hands in his pockets, glaring at the ground. I suppose he was thinking.

"Yeah, fine," he grumbled out finally. "What should I tell the others?"

I shrugged. "Distant relation? Old family friend? It doesn't matter, you could probably just say goodbye for now and they wouldn't bother you,"

"Fine, but stay over here," he said, pointing at the ground as though he had some authority over me. I just smiled instead of rebuking his assumption.

* * *

_Kailey's Point of View: _

Harry and I were sitting in the living room, me reading and him doing something to his broom. Suddenly I shivered so hard that the book in my hands fell to the ground. Harry looked up at me as I continued to shake. "Kailey, what's wrong?" he asked, getting up from his seat on the chair across from the couch I was sitting, bending over to pick up the book.

I shook my head. "I don't know…I'm just…really cold…" I trailed off, looking at him with horrified eyes as he gasped.

"Did I just see your breath?"

I didn't have time to answer before a great crackling sound rumbled throughout the house. "What was that?" I whispered, a feeling of terror seeping through my skin. It sounded again and this time, we both stood up.

"Wands?" Harry asked, dipping his hand into his pocket for a second as I mirrored his action, nodding. "You don't think it could be…dementors?"

I let out a shaky breath, nodding. "But the wards are keeping them out…for now…"

"What should we do?"

This time I shook my head. "Get a house-elf; we need to get the others back here,"

He nodded and called for the head elf, Binks.

"Young master, the wards," Binks said before he had fully appeared before us.

"We know, listen, can you go and get my parents from wherever they are? We need them back here now," Harry instructed. Binks nodded, snapping his fingers and two more elves appeared.

"Blinkey and Twinkie, you is knowing what is needing to be done," Binks said solemnly and both elves nodded before an enormous crack signified their leaving. "I is staying here with you, young master and young miss. No evils is being allowed to come in Potter Mansion, not if Binks is being here too,"

Suddenly, a thunderous boom echoed throughout the house. Harry and I stood shoulder to shoulder, watching the entrance to the living room with our wands aloft. Binks snapped his fingers again and the rest of the Potter elves were suddenly standing in a loose circle around us.

"Young master is knowing the Patronus spell?" Binks asked without turning around to face us as an unearthly fog began to fill the room.

"Yes,"

"Young miss?"

I gulped. "Yes,"

"You is must being ready," he said, though it wasn't quite an order.

I flinched as the scene before me flickered to the graveyard, my own screams echoing in my head. I clenched my eyes shut, leaning as close to Harry as I could without knocking him over, trying to pretend that the room temperature wasn't dropping with every second that passed.

* * *

_Keena's Point of View: _

"Don't move," I murmured, stopping in my tracks as the feeling of cold ice trickled down my back. Dudley and Alianna looked at me strangely as I took out my wand. How could they be here of all places? And why _now_?

"What is it, mum?" Alianna whispered, eyeing my wand before glancing around.

"Listen to me very carefully," I said, giving them both a look. "I need you both to think of the happiest memories you possibly can. Keep your mouths shut and stay with me,"

Alianna nodded just as she shivered for the first time. Her eyes glazed over for a moment before she looked up at me, terror replacing the glazed look. "There were supposed to be two of them here," she whispered.

I frowned at her, but didn't have time to respond.

"W-what is g-going on?" Dudley chattered, looking around wildly. "I-it's so…so…"

"Sh," I hissed, looking around as well, trying to catch sight of it.

"S-stop,"

"Stay calm," I snapped, just as much for myself as for him as the myriad of images began to swamp my vision. I held Alianna to me with one arm, aiming my wand towards anything that moved.

I shook my head violently as I saw Mrs. Potter's broken body followed quickly by the inferi of Mr. Potter. "No, no," I whispered, hugging Alianna closer. Suddenly I saw it, giant and floating as it rushed at me. "_Expecto_ _Patronum_!" I shouted. I only got a flash of white light, but it forced the dementor to fly off course, dodging around the three of us.

Dudley whimpered and sank to the ground while Alianna clutched my jacket into tight balls in her fists. The dementor turned to face us again, seeming to deliberate over its next move. "_Expecto_ _Patronum_!" I shouted again, only managing to produce a fine white mist that created a shield around us.

It floated backwards for a moment and I sighed in relief, relaxing only a little, before it suddenly rushed forward again, shattering my weak shield, sending all three of us flying backwards. I gasped aloud in pain as my side made contact with the ground.

_Be happy for the baby…!_

I couldn't tell if it was an old memory or a new thought. My vision blurred as the dementor drew closer, its hands reaching for its hood, a perfect match to the memory of the last time I witnessed a dementor's kiss.

Except this time all I could hear was Alianna screaming.

**And thus ends chapter 1. With a cliff-hanger. Chapter 2 shall be posted as quickly as possible. Again, please let me know if you have any questions!**

**:-D**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two: Soul

**Disclaimed. **

**Special shout-out to live2luv for being the first to review! (Your request is being considered very carefully, by the way) Happy reading to you!**

_Kailey's Point of View: _

It was enormous as it floated in the darkened living room, its cold, rattling breath seemed to be sucking out the light and warmth of the house.

The elves had raised their hands and a bright, silvery shield now stood between us and the tall, dark dementor. It had only halted but making no move to retreat despite the strong shield the elves had provided. I shuddered as the creature lifted its own hands before making a swiping motion, as though it could blow the shield away. One of the elves shivered.

"Young master! You is needing to make the patronus!" Binks called as the dementor's motions picked up speed. The shield around us began to splinter and my knees buckled as another image of Voldemort crowded my vision. I sank to the floor, barely noticing that I had dropped my wand.

Harry didn't need to be told twice. "_Expecto_ _patronum_!" he tried, but the wisp of silver vapor disappeared after half a second. I took his left hand in my right as portions of the shield began disappearing, the cold of the dementor leaking through. "_EXPECTO_ _PATRONUM_!" he yelled. The silver stag erupted from his wand and chased the dementor away.

I gasped at the sudden warmth and Harry sank down to the ground next to me as all of the elves headed for different parts of the mansion, to search and see that the dementor had actually left. One of the elves and Binks stayed in the room with us as another went to fetch some chocolate from the kitchen.

"You alright?" he asked, panting slightly.

I moved to nod my head, closing my eyes, but when they were shut all I could see was Cedric's body and Voldemort's smile. I shook my head violently, opening my eyes to meet his. "I'm sorry, Harry, I didn't think they would still come; I didn't think the wards would let them," I shivered as he pulled me into a hug.

"It isn't your fault," he said firmly. "And there was only one,"

We both jumped at the sound of several cracks and looked up to see Sirius, James and Remus standing in front of us, wands out. The two elves stood beside them.

"What happened?" James demanded, gripping his wand and moving forward to kneel before us. "They said a dementor breached the wards,"

"Yeah," Harry said, not releasing me from the hug. "The elves tried to keep it away, but I had to use a patronus,"

Sirius growled out an oath and Remus, not usually one for swearing, nodded in agreement. "But what was it doing here?"

The four of them looked at me. "You're not seriously asking that question, are you?" I asked as the little elf returned with chocolate.

The three men exchanged worried glances before James stood, offering a hand to help the two of us up from the ground. "There was only one?" he checked.

I froze mid-nod before looking at them. "There were supposed to be two…" My gaze landed on Sirius and stayed there.

"Where's Keena?" he demanded as recognition shown in his eyes.

"Wisteria Walk," the words had hardly left my mouth before he'd disapparated.

* * *

_Keena's Point of View: _

I forced myself to keep my eyes open, trying to see past the visions that were racing through my mind as I reached for my wand, desperate to get the creature away from my daughters. I gasped in shock as I felt the slimy, cold hand wrap around my left wrist just as I was about to grasp the handle of my wand. It dragged me back a mere two inches. I had to reach for it, I had to.

"No, no, no!" I panted, touching the tip of my wand.

"NO!" Alianna shrieked and I looked up in time to see her barrel into the dementor, shocking it into letting go of my wrist. I snatched up my wand, terror knotting up my stomach as I whirled around to see the damned beast bending towards my girl.

With a wordless shriek, I brought my wand slashing up towards the dementor, causing it to stumble backwards. "STAY AWAY FROM HER!" I screamed, standing up to aim my wand at its head. "I know it's me that you want!" I continued when it didn't move. "Or did you think I'd forget you?"

It turned its head back to her for a moment before dropping her hands, racing towards me. I was ready for it. "_EXPECTO_ _PATRONUM_!" the silver dog burst out of my wand, snarling at the dementor and snapping his jaw.

"Mum! Use your spell!" Alianna screamed from behind the fray.

I froze for a moment, not understanding what she meant but then the baby in my stomach kicked. Again, I brought up my wand and shouted, "_DESINO_ _LETUM_!"

The dementor's scream was unearthly as the bright golden-white light of my spell consumed it. The entire alleyway lit up and shone like a star for a brief second and I was forced to shield my eyes. With a muffled boom, the light disappeared, taking the dementor with it, leaving behind several small balls of light, each shining in its own color. Alianna scurried over to me, clutching me in a hug as one by one the souls disappeared until only one remained.

It was bright blue and seemed to shimmer as it approached us. Hesitantly, Alianna let go of me with one hand, holding it out to the little ball of light. "Mum, it's her," she whispered. "Isn't it?"

The light blinked as if to nod before it began to circle around the hand that I had outstretched towards it. It circled faster and faster and Alianna stepped away from me as its path grew. With a sudden flash, it disappeared, leaving me with a feeling of warmth.

I looked up at Alianna, shocked. Before either of us could say a word, a loud crack announced an apparation. Alianna gave a little scream as I shoved her behind me, bringing up my wand to find myself faced with a similarly posed Sirius. "Oh, Merlin, Sirius," I sighed, lowering my wand as Alianna scooted around me to engulf Sirius in a tight hug.

"What the bloody hell just happened?" he asked, glancing beyond me to where a semi-conscious Dudley sat, holding his head in his hands.

"A dementor attacked," I murmured as my feet carried me forward so that I could embrace my family.

"Mum killed it," Alianna whispered when I didn't add the detail. She leaned away from us as her eyes glazed over for a moment before quickly clearing again. "She freed Aradia's soul; she can be born now,"

I closed my eyes to let the words sink in before I felt a strange throb in my stomach. I gasped and took a step back from the other two, looking at my stomach with wide eyes. "Keena? Are you alright?"

"Yes, fine," I answered, a little distantly. "C'mon, let's get these signed; I want to go home,"

Sirius helped Dudley off of the ground and we hurried as best we could to arrive at number four. I knocked on the door loudly, trying to ignore my stomach as it throbbed again. The door was yanked open to reveal a shocked Petunia Dursley.

"Dudley? What's happened to my Dudley?" she cried, moving out of the way as Sirius pulled the large teen into the house. I gave Alianna a tiny nudge and she entered the house in front of me.

"There was a dementor attack," I said just as Vernon entered the room, having heard Petunia's cries.

Vernon frowned, glaring at the three of us. "A what?"

But Petunia blinked. "It's you," she whispered, staring at me. "You always said you couldn't take the boy! What changed?" she demanded. "And what did you do to my baby?"

"My fiancé didn't do anything except save your son," Sirius growled. Vernon's face turned red as he began to react.

"Sirius," I warned, giving him a look. "Petunia, we just need your signature stating that you legally hand Harry's custody over to me,"

"But what about Dudley?"

"Give him some chocolate, he'll be fine," I said, trying to keep a gasp from escaping my mouth as my stomach throbbed again. "We'll be gone from your life forever," I added, fumbling in my pockets for the shrunken folder.

I handed her the parchment along with the signature quill, pointing out where she needed to sign. Her hand froze over the parchment.

"Please, Petunia, there isn't much time," I said urgently, eager to get in touch with Amanda as soon as possible. I wasn't about to have a random healer dispatched to me from the hospital, but they would if she was too busy to come or if I was too panicky.

"He's my sister's son," she murmured, as though realizing it for the first time.

"And you never bloody cared before," I growled, giving her husband a nasty glare. "But it doesn't matter now; I'm his father's blood-sister now and I can take him. Just sign the form,"

"You already have two children," she said quietly, her eyes rising to rest on Alianna, who was hiding behind me again.

My eyes flashed in fury. "And he's happier now than he ever was here. We have the inheritance of two of the greatest families in Britain, magical or muggle, so if you're quite done with the excuses, please, just sign,"

Petunia gulped, closing her eyes. "I would like to see him for myself at some point," she said, though she was still signing the parchment. "If you would not mind it,"

"It's been nearly two years. He's fifteen," Sirius said, taking the parchment from the strangely remorseful woman. "It will be up to him when and if he ever decides to visit you,"

Vernon snorted, but said nothing as Petunia returned to worrying over Dudley.

"Let's get you two home," Sirius murmured, placing a hand on the small of my back while his other rested on Alianna's shoulder.

We were heading up the pathway to the front door of Mrs. Figg's house when I felt a sudden increase in wetness running down my legs just as another throb left me clinging onto Sirius to stay upright. I froze in shock, staring at Sirius as he stared back in equal surprise.

"I think…it might be time," I whispered, trying to keep myself calm.

Sirius nodded. "Which means you probably shouldn't floo…"

"No portkeys," I reminded him.

"And no apparation," he added.

"And no common sense it seems!" we both jumped to see Mrs. Figg heading towards us, following Alianna, who was holding some towels. "Luckily, your girl thought to come and fetch me and Merlin forbid you take that dreaded bus, come along, we'll take my car," she said, shaking the keys in her hand.

"I was supposed to give birth at home," I said, gasping at the sudden burst of pain.

"I can't get you that far, dear," Mrs. Figg said kindly, but in a no-nonsense tone.

"Every Potter has been born in one of the houses," I protested as Sirius led me to Mrs. Figg's old, rusty ford. "And the same with every Black,"

"I know, love," Sirius answered, nodding his thanks to Alianna as she opened up the door for him. "But we already knew our girls were special,"

"I know that!" I cried in shock at what he seemed to be saying before I winced at another contraction. "These are too close," I said through gritted teeth. "Go back to the house, Sirius; tell them to meet us,"

He bit his lip before shaking his head. "No, I don't want to leave you alone,"

Alianna cleared her throat as Mrs. Figg started the car.

Sirius sighed, kissing me on the forehead before he apparated away.

"Buckle up," I muttered to Alianna as Mrs. Figg jerked to a stop as one of her cats bolted out from under the car. _This is going to be a long night…_

* * *

_Kailey's Point of View: _

I don't think the word 'commotion' completely covered the situation. A ministry owl had arrived moments after Sirius had left, explaining Harry's immediate expulsion. James had shouted in anger, saying some words I hadn't even known, before Remus calmed him down enough to sit. Lily had come through the fireplace moments later, explaining that Arthur Weasley had sent her a note telling her what had happened.

Not five minutes after this, another ministry owl arrived to tell Harry he wasn't expelled, but should consider himself suspended for the time being until his hearing on the twelfth. James had grumbled, but said nothing after a well-placed glare from Lily. James, Lily and Remus had then gone outside to reset the wards along with some of the elves.

Before they came back inside, however, Sirius apparated loudly into the house, shouting about Keena being in labor.

"Now?" Harry had asked, his voice going up a pitch in surprise.

Sirius had nodded before rushing out the back door, only to come in moments later with the other three. "Go to St. Mungo's Sirius, we'll meet you there," Lily was saying, giving Sirius a push towards the fireplace.

He nodded distractedly before disappearing in a crack, not even realizing he had just taken a handful of floo powder into his hand. Lily immediately began performing her glamour charms using the mirror in the hall, James pacing next to her, having gotten his own ready the moment the first letter from the ministry arrived telling us that someone would be stopping by. "James, relax," she commanded after he bumped into her a second time.

"My house's wards just collapsed, my son and his friend were attacked by a dementor, my sister and niece were also just attacked by a dementor and now said sister is in labor. I don't think I can relax, Lily," he grumbled as Lily finished and turned to face him.

"James Nathaniel Potter, you _will_ relax or you will _not_ be going to the hospital with the rest of us," she growled. "Sirius is nervous enough without you pacing in the waiting room and I'm certain Keena would not be very pleased either. Besides, Mrs. Figg is driving her there."

"She's _driving_?" Remus asked raising an eyebrow. "That's a thirty minute drive…at least,"

Lily huffed and gave Remus a look, which promptly shut him up. "I'm going ahead to the hospital; I'll floo you when it's time,"

"I thought it was time?" James asked as Lily headed for the kitchen fireplace.

"James, if you don't calm down right now—"

"How d'you expect me to calm down?" he interrupted. "She's half a month early at least and she's the first Potter to not give birth in one of the family houses!"

"James!" she snapped. Harry and I took a step back in caution and I glanced over in time to see Remus gulp. "Let it go. If you'd prefer, one of the elves can come back and get you when she's at the hospital. I'm going now because I don't want Sirius getting kicked out by an annoyed healer." She said slowly and calmly, placing both of her hands on James' shoulders, planting a quick kiss on his cheek when he nodded, as though shocked she wasn't yelling.

She disappeared in a swirl of green flame. Moments later, however, the fireplace glowed green again and Bill Weasley stepped through, brushing some soot from his sleeves. "Mum said you were having trouble with some wards?" he asked, looking from Remus to James.

"Yes, right this way," Remus said, gesturing for the redhead to follow. "James, c'mon, we can't reset them without you there,"

"But what if she floos?" he asked, staring at the fire.

Bill looked curiously at Remus. "Keena's just gone into labor and James is reverting to his over-protective big brother mode," he explained. Bill nodded sagely while Harry and I snickered at the look on James' face.

"This isn't funny! She's going to the hospital muggle-style with a crazy cat lady!"

Bill gawked. "They're driving? What happened to the floo network?"

"Sirius said her water already broke, they didn't want to risk it," Remus answered. "But this isn't going to get those wards set up," he added and the three of them headed out for the front door.

Harry turned to me as the door shut. "How much for a bet that dad is even more nervous than Sirius?" he asked, nodding to where the three of them had just disappeared.

I bit my lip, considering. "No way, too easy," I replied, shaking my head.

* * *

_Keena's Point of View: _

"Arabella, can't this thing move any faster?" I hissed at another contraction.

"We're nearly there, dear," she called back and I let out a gust of air as the pain alleviated momentarily.

"How near is near?" I asked, panting slightly.

"Five minutes," she replied, glancing in her rearview mirror at me. "Are you ready to run inside like I told you?" she asked. Alianna nodded. "Tell me what you have to do,"

"Just go up to the glass door and say Keena Potter needs immediate entry to the hospital because she's in labor then go in through the glass to find the Welcome Witch and ask for Healer Amanda Bell," she reeled off, glancing at me as I leaned back into the seat trying to endure another contraction.

"That's just right," Mrs. Figg replied.

Moments later, she swung her car into an empty parking space right in front of the apparently abandoned store. Alianna leapt from the car and sprinted up the steps before she disappeared from view. Mrs. Figg, meanwhile, had gotten herself out of the car and came over to help get me up.

Before my feet had completely touched the ground, two young healers in green robes came running down the stairs. I sighed in relief as I spotted one of them to be Amanda. Her long brown hair was falling out of its ponytail as she came around and lifted my right arm over her shoulder, the other healer doing the same with my left.

"You just couldn't wait to see her, could you?" Amanda asked jokingly as we made our way up the steps. She glanced over her shoulder at Mrs. Figg when I grimaced. "How far apart are the contractions, would you say?"

"About a minute and a half," she answered, stuffing her keys into her over-stuffed purse.

"Alright, Keena?" she asked as I began to grip the neck of her robe tightly in my fist as I focused on breathing.

"Ask me no questions," I hissed, clenching my eyes shut as I paused to get through the wave of pain. "And I'll tell you no lies," I finished, panting for air again.

"Yes, well, perhaps you'll explain just how long you were exposed to that dementor Sirius was on about," she said as they set me in a wheelchair by the door that Sirius was leaning against.

"Oh, the one I killed," I nodded. "Bugger got what it deserved,"

"I don't doubt that, but I need to know what exactly happened," she said, beginning to push me up the ward, Sirius following us closely.

"Where's Alianna?" I asked, looking around distractedly.

"She went with Libby to floo the others and let them know that you're here," Sirius answered. "Now answer Amanda,"

"What do you need to know exactly?" I asked instead of responding to Sirius. For the moment.

"Last time you said you fell, did anything like that happen again?"

"Oh, Merlin and Founders, I did!" I gasped and Amanda picked up her pace.

"Alright, Keena, stay calm," she said as she turned done a corridor that was pink and blue. A few other new mothers glanced up from their beds, but Amanda didn't stop, turning through another door instead. This room was white with a long bed and several shelves of potions lined up along a counter that sat against the opposite wall. There was also a chair, but unlike the ones that the fathers in the rest of the wing had been sitting in, this one looked like the smaller ones in the hospital wing at Hogwarts.

"You think I'm that close to delivery?" I asked, feeling panicky as yet another contraction hit, this one making me whimper.

"I do," she answered. "Sirius, help me get her up," she ordered.

The two of them managed to get me into the bed and Sirius took a hold of my hand.

"What happened when you killed the dementor? How much magic did it take?" Amanda asked, taking out her wand and running diagnostic spells before flicking it at me so that I was suddenly wearing a hospital gown.

"I used a patronus first," I answered hurriedly. "It was the strongest one I've ever gotten and then I used that spell," I paused. "You remember the one for Neville Longbottom?" she nodded, understanding my reference to the Revival Spell. "I used it on the dementor and it released them,"

I froze, clenching my eyes shut and squeezing Sirius' hand tightly in my own. "Can't you give her anything?" he asked worriedly.

Amanda bit her lip as she ran another diagnostic test, this time touching her wand to a bit of parchment. She read it over carefully, stepping away from the bed and gesturing to Sirius. I watched them warily as they stood in the doorway, but Sirius' back was to me and Amanda's expression was schooled into what we had always called her 'healing-face'. She had always won our poker games during the war.

Before I could call out to them, Lily and the second healer from earlier came into the room. "Hello, Professor," the healer said, pushing her glasses up her nose. "D'you remember me?"

I frowned at her and shook my head before closing my eyes, gasping out in pain. "Sorry," I whispered, grasping the hand that had slid into my left. I opened my eyes and gave Lily a weak smile as she reached up to smooth some sweaty hair back from my face. "You are familiar, though," I said, looking back to the healer. I squinted my eyes at her then it clicked. "Healer McSimmons, I presume," I smiled.

"Call me Charlotte," she blushed. "Can I get you anything for the moment?"

"You can tell my fiancé to get his arse back in here so I don't break Libby's hand," I grinned as Charlotte laughed. "Unless that isn't what you meant,"

"Not quite, but I can do that," she answered. "Is there anyone else who should be in the waiting room?" she asked.

"Who's here?" I asked in return, looking over at Lily.

"Harry, Johnny, Remus, Kailey, Mrs. Figg and Alianna," she rattled off.

"No Tonks?"

"Remus was going to floo them to see about getting her here," she answered, smiling slyly at me when I grinned in return.

"It's almost too easy to get them together," I shook my head before another wave of pain came rushing back. I clenched my eyes shut and tried to remember to breathe before it was over. I let out a gust of air and took my hand away from Lily's, noting how she flexed it. "I'm sorry," I whispered.

"It's alright, Keena, don't be ridiculous," Lily smiled as a worried Sirius made his way back over to my bed with Amanda.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" I demanded when Sirius' expression didn't change as he kissed my forehead.

"Keena, listen to me," Amanda said and I immediately directed my attention towards her. "Your contractions are getting very close together very quickly,"

"Yeah, no shi—" I broke off as another one hit suddenly and it took much of my will power to keep me from crying out any louder than a whimper. It would be a miracle if Lily and Sirius didn't need their hands healed by the end of the night. "What does it mean?" I breathed out. "When do I get the pain potion?"

Amanda bit her lip and I glanced at Sirius, who was wincing. I looked back at Amanda and I'm sure my expression would have been priceless to look at if the situation had been appropriate. "If we give you the potion this close to birth—"

She paused as I closed my eyes to another throbbing contraction. "No pain potion?" I gasped out when it was over. I opened my eyes to see her nodding before I looked at Sirius. "You are a dead man," I informed him with a glare. He had the common sense to gulp at my threat. I looked back at Amanda. "The baby?"

"Her heart rate is moving a little more quickly than I would like," she admitted. My own heart skipped a beat and the contraction shocked me into a small scream before I got it under control.

"What do you need Healer?" Charlotte asked, snapping into a serious role as Amanda began putting on gloves and a mask.

"Auror Black and Mrs. Patterson go with Healer McSimmons, and then go update the family," she ordered. Sirius looked ready to protest. "Just to get outfitted for the birth," she said stalling him. "It'll only take a moment but the less magic we use around this baby for the moment, the better,"

They both waited until my latest contraction ended before racing out of the room behind Charlotte. I looked at Amanda with a fearful gaze. "What happened to perfection?" I asked. "And why is magic a bad thing?"

"Keena, you've just suffered a traumatic experience. The baby's system is a little shocked right now which is why your labor is going so quickly," she paused as the worst contraction yet hit. I nodded to her when I was ready to listen again. "We'll wait to use magic until we can literally see how it affects her; diagnostic spells can only go so far pre-birth,"

"Just tell me," I contracted again, my whimpers turning into cries. "Tell me," I panted. "She's going to be…okay,"

She wouldn't look me in the eye.

* * *

_Kailey's Point of View: _

It was slightly amusing, watching James and Harry pace back and forth. Their hands were in the same position behind their backs and at almost the exact same moments, each would lift a hand and running it through his hair. Neither was responsive to the rest of us as we chatted, seemingly in their own little worlds. They did both freeze, however, when a brunette healer with glasses came into the room.

"Are you all here for Keena Potter?" she asked, glancing around at us. The room nodded a general consent, staring at her for more information. "She's doing fine and her labor is progressing quickly,"

"So I'm going to have a little sister soon?" Alianna asked from her position on the couch between Remus and the newly arrived Tonks.

The healer bit her lip, glancing at one or two of the adults. "We certainly hope so. The baby's heart is beating a little quickly at the moment, so we don't know how long after the birth it will be before any of you get to see her until we can run another diagnostic spell over her,"

"Will you be keeping us informed?" Remus asked when James seemed unable to articulate the words for himself.

"As much as I can," she nodded. "I'm Healer McSimmons, by the way,"

"Sammy's big sister?" Alianna asked, leaning forward. All heads swiveled from the younger girl to the healer.

Healer McSimmons stared at the little girl for a moment before snapping her fingers. "Got it, you're Ali, right? Sammy's been talking about you non-stop all summer," she smiled.

"Would you tell her I say hi?" she asked. The healer nodded just as a wolf patronus skidded into the room.

"She's ready," Sirius' voice said before the patronus disappeared. The healer wasted no time rushing away through the doors.

"Ready for what?" James grumbled. "Damn Sirius and his non-specificity,"

Remus rolled his eyes, but it was Tonks who answered. "What else would she be ready for, Johnny? She's probably pushing," she said dryly.

James and Harry exchanged looks, gulping.

* * *

_Keena's Point of View: _

"Okay, Keena, you're doing fantastic. Just one more," Amanda coached as I struggled for air. Oh, but it _hurt_. "Ready? One, two, three,"

I screamed, no longer fearful of being considered weak or even being heard, thanks to the silencing spells warded around the room. I pushed as hard as I could, feeling my hands cramping up from squeezing them so tightly. I wasn't sure if my face was just wet with sweat or with pain-induced tears.

And suddenly the pain released as I gasped into the silence. I closed my eyes and held my breath when suddenly little cries were made by a baby who did not seem very pleased at all, but it only made me smile.

I looked up at Sirius, whose expression seemed to be a mixture of disbelief and awe before he looked down at me, moving to kiss me full on the lips. "You're so amazing," he informed me before kissing my forehead again while Lily gave my hand a gentle squeeze.

"You did great," Lily smiled, taking out her wand to conjure up a washcloth to wipe my face with.

I just continued to smile before looking up to try and catch a glimpse of my baby girl as Amanda and Charlotte swiftly moved their wands over her, one to clean her and the other to test her as she shrieked in discontent. "Her heart, Amanda, how is it? Is she alright?" I called when I noticed Charlotte had walked over to a cabinet to pull out a soft pink towel.

"She's just fine; her heart rate is back to where it should be," Amanda replied, wrapping her up in the towel before bringing her over to me. "Keena, meet your daughter," she said, passing the pink bundle into my arms.

Her face softened as her cries diminished, only sniffling as I cradled her in my arms. "Hello little one," I whispered, running the back of my finger down her cheek.

I was barely aware of Lily getting up and leaving the room with Charlotte and Amanda, leaving Sirius and I alone with our baby girl. I just couldn't take my eyes off of her. She was beautiful.

"I'm your mum," I continued as her sniffles died out and she slowly blinked her deep gray eyes. "And this is your dad," I added as Sirius slid one of arms around my shoulders.

"Aradia," he called softly, stroking the back of her tiny fist. She opened her hand at the touch and managed to close it around his finger. "Aradia Kamela Black,"

"Kamela?" I asked in a whisper, wondering why he'd changed his mind about her middle name.

"It means 'perfect'," he answered, kissing the side of my head again.

"And she is," I smiled, stroking her cheek again as she slid her eyes shut to sleep.

**That's it for chapter 2! Don't worry; plenty of drama over the dementor fiasco to come, but I wanted to have a happy ending for the moment. Next will be chapter 3!**

**:-D**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three: Moving

**Disclaimed. **

**There was a comment about how the Ministry wouldn't know who was doing the magic in Potter Mansion. Since the wards fell, that allowed for Harry's Trace to go off. Normally, wizarding houses have wards up to prevent things like that from happening. I hope that explains it! Enjoy!**

_Keena's Point of View: _

"What d'you mean we might not get to take her back to Potter Mansion?" I asked, raising an eyebrow as I looked from Sirius to Amanda in confusion. Amanda had given us a few minutes to ourselves before coming back in with a clipboard to record Aradia's information so that it could be written out on her birth certificate and given to the goblins to prove her existence; they were very demanding when it came to creating a new Gringotts key. I had brought up my excitement to take her home with us when I was told this would not be so.

"Well aside from the fact that it is nearly one in the morning and you can't be discharged from St. Mungo's until tomorrow afternoon at earliest…" Amanda began, glancing at Sirius who sighed. Amanda gave him a look, clearly meaning that he should continue.

"The wards at the mansion fell," he said quietly. "A different dementor attacked the house to get to Harry and Kailey…Harry's been suspended from Hogwarts for underage wizardry,"

I blinked at the news. "And no one's told me until now because…?"

"Don't be angry with him," Amanda rolled her eyes. "I told him not to say anything to you; you would've panicked at not knowing about Harry or Kailey,"

"Well have they put the wards back up?" I demanded, keeping my voice low so as not to wake my sleeping baby. Sirius nodded. "Then there shouldn't be a problem. I'm not going to be chased out of my house and I won't take her to…_there_ until I know it's as clean as it can possibly be. And if the Ministry tries to pull anything on Harry, I'm going to ask them what in Merlin's name a dementor was doing in a suburban muggle town. In fact, I'm going to demand they tell me anyway,"

Sirius sighed. "We'll talk about it later," he said, brushing a stray hair away from my face. "You should get some sleep," he added as I yawned.

I nodded, gazing down at the little angel in my arms. "Not before I see her dad holding her," I smiled, glancing up at him to see his nod.

I lifted Aradia gently, brushing my lips against her fuzzy head, before holding her out to Sirius' waiting arms. He looked a little unsure of himself at first as she came awake for a moment, sniffling, before he took one finger and put it near her hand for her to grab onto again. The sniffling stopped and she closed her eyes with a tiny sigh.

"Can we bring Alianna in here? I want to be awake when they meet each other," I requested quietly.

Sirius glanced up at me, nodding as he gently loosened Aradia's grip on his finger so that he could take out his wand to send a patronus out. Moments later, the door opened quietly to reveal Lily, James and Alianna. Lily led Alianna over to the chair next to my bed as my girl stared at the little bundle in her dad's arms.

I sat up straighter before leaning back against my pillows, watching. James walked around to the other side of my bed and put a hand on my shoulder. "Mum and Dad would be proud," he said quietly, squeezing my shoulder for a moment before letting go.

"I'm sure they're already proud," I murmured as Sirius carefully transferred Aradia into Alianna's waiting arms.

Alianna's eyes grew wide. "She's so little," she whispered.

_Good thing…_ I shuddered at the thought.

"How does it feel to be a big sister?" Sirius asked her with a grin.

"Scary…in a good way," she answered, looking first at him and then at me. "D'you think she'll like me?"

"I think she'll love you," I answered, reaching over to rest my hand on her head, stroking her hair once or twice. "I know I certainly do,"

"So, Uncle Jimmy," Sirius started with a grin. James provided him with a glare. "How's it feel? You're an uncle twice now and a dad,"

James snorted. "Yeah, Padfoot, and you're a dad twice, and an uncle and godfather once,"

Sirius looked down at our girls with a grin. "Yeah…but I like it,"

"Now, Sirius, play fair," I grinned. "At least let him know he's got a third title as well,"

"Godfather?" James' jaw seemed unhinged for a second before he was grinning. I nodded, smirking at his reaction before I looked to Lily.

"Would you be her godmother?" I asked, still smiling. "Someone'll have to keep him in line," I added, jerking my head at my brother. Lily beamed.

"Of course," she answered. "I've kept him trained for years at any rate,"

* * *

_Kailey's Point of View: _

Lily and James returned a few minutes later with a yawning Alianna. "We're going to head home," James announced quietly. Harry and I groaned simultaneously. We wanted to see the new baby too.

"Sorry, guys, but Aradia was falling asleep and Keena needs to. You'll see them both tomorrow," Lily told us.

"What about the wards?" I asked, my mind flashing back to the dementor at once.

"We're just about finished with them. Do you think there's any danger?" Remus replied as he offered a hand for Tonks to take. I shook my head then shrugged.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you," Tonks said, pausing to yawn, her hair rippling from baby pink back to hot pink as she did so. "Dumbledore sent along a message to us; he wanted to oversee the new wards personally. I think Bill was going to go back with him to help while we were all here,"

"Good, that's one less thing to worry about," Remus nodded, sounding satisfied as we began heading for the fireplaces.

"I thought Bill was a curse-breaker," Harry mumbled quietly. I glanced around at Lily who shrugged.

"He said it was part of his training," Remus answered. "Something about needing to know how to perform all sorts of wards before you could understand how to break through them again," he explained while James headed over to a counter near the fireplace that held the floo powder.

James flooed back to the mansion first, claiming he was the fastest apparater out of the four adults in case something was amiss. Nothing was, so Harry went next followed by Alianna and then me. I landed a bit unsteadily making Harry laugh at me quietly as two of the house elves came to my rescue.

"Sorry," I blushed at the elves.

"It is being no trouble Miss," one elf, Twinkie, I thought, said with a smile.

"We is used to catching our Masters or Mistresses," the other grinned.

James laughed aloud. "Do either of you remember the time that you made Keena walk down the stairs? That first Christmas?" he asked as he pulled his glasses out of his pocket so that he could unglamour his eyes.

Both elves smiled widely and began chatting animatedly about their 'young Mistress'. Alianna looked like she would have liked to keep up with the conversation, but her head was resting on her arms as she sat at the table. The fire glowed green as Lily arrived, waving her wand around her face as she did so to remove the charms. Both Remus and Tonks followed her through within moments.

"I think it's time for someone to go to bed," Tonks grinned when she spotted Alianna at the table.

She groaned something unintelligible in response that made Lily smile. "C'mon, Alianna, the longer you wait, the longer those stairs will take to climb," she said, gently prodding the girl in the side. "You two need to get to bed as well if you want to go and see the baby in the morning," she said glancing up at Harry and me.

We exchanged long-suffering looks before trudging up the stairs behind Lily and Alianna, though James, Remus and Tonks remained in the kitchen.

"Busy day," Harry muttered as the two of us made our way towards our respective bedrooms, having said goodnight to Lily and Alianna as they headed for the third floor. I nodded.

"Yeah, it was," I answered, trying to cover up a yawn. "You don't suppose she'll get into to trouble, do you?"

He frowned at me as we reached my door. "What d'you mean?"

"I mean with Keena killing the dementor and all," I shrugged.

His frown deepened. "They can't really get her in trouble for that…can they?" Again, I shrugged. He shook his head. "I suppose if they can expel me for defending myself, they can get her in trouble for killing the thing, though,"

I laughed aloud at that. "Expel you? You really think Dumbledore would let that happen?" I smirked at him, though he scowled in return.

"I dunno, I mean he's kept both of us out of everything so far this summer. So have my parents and the others. And I know you _think_ you know what's going on, but don't you find it the least bit insulting that they don't tell us anything?" he grumbled, shaking his head as he ran a hand through his already messy hair.

I raised an eyebrow at him. "What's to know? Voldemort's recruiting, the Ministry is being obtuse and Dumbledore's doing what he can to stop both from occurring. It isn't that hard to figure out, Harry,"

He rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I get that part of it, but what's the rest of it? I'm sure Ron and Hermione could've figured out a way to send that through a letter, but they keep alluding to all this other stuff,"

"Are you feeling—" I paused as a yawn interrupted me. "Left out?" I finished.

"No, Kailey, why in Merlin's name would I feel left out?"

"Sarcasm is unbecoming of you, Harry James," I said, folding my arms and glaring at him. "If you're going to be rude about it, then I'm going to bed; I for one don't want to be cranky when I meet the baby tomorrow,"

* * *

_Keena's Point of View: _

When I awoke the next morning it was to find myself in a screened off bed in the main section of the birthing department. In a large, cushioned chair next to me, sat Sirius, holding our new baby daughter. I smiled at him, but felt no energy to move as I watched him rocking her gently in his arms. He was whispering things to her, not having noticed that I was awake yet and the sight made me tear up slightly before my gaze focused on the sleeping baby's face.

"Good morning," his whisper made me jump a little as I tore my eyes away from studying her little face to look up at his. "Amanda wants you to take that potion," he said, nodding his head towards something next to me. Beside my bed was a small table upon which sat a milky looking potion. "She said it would help with the soreness and give you some energy back,"

I sighed, sitting up so that I could take the potion without spilling. Surprisingly enough, it tasted more like steamed milk than anything else and some of the soreness began to recede immediately. "Did she wake up at all last night?" I asked having the impression that someone had slid a sleeping potion into the glass of water I had been given just before Alianna had left the room the previous night.

"Once or twice, but she always calmed down when she was near you and in my arms," he sounded proud of it and I couldn't contain a smile at the thought.

"When do we take her home?" I asked, sliding back down in the bed so that I was closer to lying down than sitting up.

He bit his lip. "Keena, I know you had your heart set on that nursery and on having her in your parents' house…but that dementor…" he shuddered slightly, taking care not to wake Aradia. "Keena, I can't deal with that thought, not when I'm not even there half of the time,"

I sighed. "They went back there last night though, didn't they?"

"Yes, but that was with four adults there at once. Tonks went to spend the night," he added when I opened my mouth to ask. "I'm just saying, and Merlin, Keena; you know I don't like it, but I think you and Aradia would be safer if you stayed somewhere else,"

I closed my eyes, allowing myself to digest what he was saying to me. "She's been shrieking so much lately," I murmured, referring to the portrait of his mother.

"She'll shut right the he—right up," he amended at my glare. "When she sees our girls. And the language thing already?"

I smiled at his whine. "You need to start those things early, love, or did nobody ever tell you Harry's first word?"

He narrowed his eyes at me, though he was clearly trying to suppress a grin. "No one ever mentioned it and the one time I asked Lily I was given a patented death glare if you recall,"

I couldn't stop myself from laughing aloud and Aradia woke with a start, beginning to cry at once. I sat up immediately as Sirius rocked her back and forth. "Oh, baby, I'm sorry," I crooned, reaching for her when Sirius stood up to hand her to me. She seemed weightless in my arms, though she was waving her tiny fists in the air in distress. Her little nose was scrunched up as she shrieked. "It's alright, Aradia, mummy's sorry," I murmured, stroking her cheek with the back of my forefinger. She leaned ever-so-slightly into the touch and slowly calmed down.

Finally, her cries were reduced to sniffles as I continued to run my finger down her cheek. She opened her stormy gray eyes and gazed up at me. I smiled down at her, though I didn't miss the sound of footsteps right outside of the closed curtains.

"I guess somebody's awake," I only grinned wider at Amanda's joke. "It's a good thing we brought you to the empty ward else all the others would be screaming by now,"

"We're in an empty ward?" I asked, glancing up at her. Then I frowned. "Wait, aren't you off of your shift yet?"

She rolled her blue eyes at me. "Keena, honestly, I thought we already went over the nature of your case,"

"You make it sound like I'm ill," I grumbled before looking down at my daughter again to see that she was still staring up at me as though I were something fascinating.

"Not ill, just rather famous," she answered lightly. "You're just lucky Dumbledore trusts Charlotte or else it would have just been me in the delivery room. That and I probably wouldn't've had access to such a fast working batch of that particular potion that you seemed to have finished off," I frowned and glanced up at her as she froze. "I wasn't supposed to mention that…was I?"

I looked over at Sirius, who was sighing and rubbing his hand across his face. I raised an eyebrow. "Going to make me ask?"

"Dumbledore came last night while you and Aradia were asleep. It's his idea that you move there immediately. That's why Snape made an alternated version of the potion; so you could be dispatched today without endangering Amanda's job," he answered.

"So…when are we leaving then?" I asked, choosing to store this information away as just another reason to be wary of Dumbledore and his ulterior motives.

"The others flooed," Amanda interrupted. "Harry and Kailey want to meet Aradia but when they're gone you'll be leaving as well," she explained quietly. "I've looked over Aradia several times already and she's healthy and strong enough to travel and thanks to the potion you will be as well when the time comes."

I nodded, trying to wrap my brain around the image. "And how will we be getting there?"

"Dumbledore said he'd provide a portkey; everyone knows we'll be coming and I'll hold Aradia so that you can concentrate on staying upright," he added the last bit in an attempt to be funny judging by the smirk he gave me. It worked, but only a little.

"Would this have been his plan if I had given birth at the end of the month?" I asked, looking down at Aradia in order to focus on staying calm. It was working so far, at least.

"No, Keena, you were attacked by a dementor, remember?" Sirius answered and I had the distinct impression he was rolling his eyes at me. "But what's done is done; we'll just have to move forward with it,"

I sighed and looked up at him. "Sirius Black, it terrifies me to admit it, but I think you've finally grown up," Amanda snorted behind me as Sirius blanched.

Footsteps and quiet voices suddenly sounded from what I could only assume to be the other end of the ward and we were soon greeted by a bouncing Alianna. She rushed straight at Sirius, who hugged her back with as much zeal as she provided. Harry and Kailey were only moments behind her, though they both paused at the foot of my bed.

"She's so tiny," Kailey whispered excitedly as Lily, James, Remus and Tonks came around the screens.

And thus started a round of pass the baby, beginning with a nervous Harry (Kailey claimed that as family, he should go first though she was more than happy to go second) and ending with a slightly anxious Tonks who had never held a baby before. She claimed it was due partly to her clumsy nature. I made her sit when she mentioned that.

All too quickly, they left the hospital and Amanda ran one final exam before giving the okay for us to depart. She flicked her wand and I was suddenly dressed in the outfit Lily had brought back from Potter Mansion while Sirius tried to figure out how to work the baby sling.

"No wonder the kids don't fall out of them, there's no way for an adult to figure it out," he grumbled before Charlotte, who had stopped by to say goodbye and was holding Aradia, took pity on him.

"Alright, here's the portkey; he's put a timer on it," Amanda said once Sirius was situated and Aradia was comfortably in place in his arms. She held up a pair of blue baby booties that had little ducks knitted onto them, handing them to me while I gripped Sirius' elbow. "I'll be by in the next few days just to check up on her. If you need anything before then don't hesitate to owl," she said, though she was watching her watch. "Three, two, one,"

I stumbled as we landed in the kitchen, though the twins made it to me before I fell to the ground. I grinned at them in thanks before heading over to Sirius to take the baby so he could wrestle with the sling again.

"Oh, Keena, Sirius, you're here," Mrs. Weasley cried as she came bustling into the room, a cleaning rag slung over her shoulder. "And so this is little Aradia," she smiled, catching sight of her. She was sniffling again and I had a feeling that the portrait of my soon-to-be mother-in-law would be shrieking soon as well. "Well, off your feet then, Keena, come along, right over here," she said, guiding me over to the table. Sirius and the twins were still trying to untangle him from the baby sling.

"Thank you, Molly," I smiled as she pulled out a chair for me to sit on, putting a cushion down on it first.

"You're very welcome, dear," she answered, though she was heading for the stove now. "I'll have breakfast right up for you both; I'm sure you've had quite the night. I've told all of the children they're not to make a sound and I've had a word with that portrait, or as much of a word as I could—Sirius, you may have to speak to her again yourself," she paused when he didn't reply immediately and we both looked at the two boys and the overgrown teen. All three of them were tangled up now. "Oh, honestly," Molly huffed, flicking her wand at the three of them.

The sling disappeared before reappearing neatly folded on the table with a second flick of her wand. "Thanks, Molly," Sirius muttered sheepishly. "And I'll talk to my mum, don't worry," he added as he came over to take a seat next to me, the twins following him over and sitting across from us.

"So that's what they look like with hair," George muttered as they looked at Aradia.

Sirius sniggered while I raised an eyebrow before looking down at my daughter as I rocked her gently, trying to get her sniffling to subside. She did have a bit of fuzzy, black hair.

"Ron and Ginny were both bald," Fred revealed.

"As the two of you were as well," Molly said, coming over with a stack of plates and silverware. "I haven't fed the rest of them yet, either," she explained when she noticed Sirius eying the large stack of plates. "And I'm willing to bet at least half of the Order will be coming over the course of the day to meet the little one,"

Said little one chose that moment to begin wailing aloud as a thump sounded from above. The portrait of Sirius' mother began shrieking aloud in chorus with Aradia's cries. Sirius leapt out of his chair, calling for his mother to be quiet while Molly charged out of the room to discipline whichever unlucky soul had made the thumping noise.

"Hush, now love, it's alright," I murmured, trying to soothe her, but she continued shrieking relentlessly.

"Apparently it's not alright," Fred observed though he shut right up when I gave him a look causing George to snicker at his twin.

I rocked her back and forth, stroking her cheek again, but she turned her head slightly as though trying to get at my finger. I chuckled quietly. "Oh, so that's what you want, is it?" I cooed, moving to stand up.

"Huh?" they glanced at one another before looking back at me.

"What does she want?"

"How do you know?"

I smirked at the two of them as I moved towards the door. "She's hungry, that's all,"

I left the two of them with expressions of horror on their faces in the kitchen as I went in search of Molly in order to find out which room Sirius and I would be staying in. The portrait was still shrieking when I entered the hall as Sirius battled with the hangings.

"ROTTEN BLOOD TRAITOR! YOU HAVE BROUGHT FILTH AND DISHONOR THROUGHOUT THIS HOUSE! BEGONE! GONE, I SAY! GO—!" she froze mid-shout as she heard Aradia's shrieks. "Is that a baby I hear?"

"If you hadn't been screaming so bloody loudly you'd've heard me telling you why I wanted you to shut the hell up," Sirius growled, moving to cover up the portrait.

"WAIT!" she screamed causing Sirius to look up at her, his expression completely annoyed. "I want to see her,"

"After I've gotten her fed," I said, coming closer to the two of them, gently rocking her in my arms. "And I swear to Merlin and Founders if you shriek like that again while either of my daughters are in this house I will tear this entire wall from the house to get rid of you," I glared at the portrait. I was satisfied to see her gulp before I turned to head up the stairs.

* * *

_Kailey's Point of View: _

"Are you sure I won't need this book too?"

I looked up from packing Alianna's trunk in a more efficient manner to see her holding up another of the first year text books. We were leaving for headquarters tomorrow now that there was finally room for all of us. It had been a little under a week now of staying indoors with a house elf per underage wizard or witch at all times in case we needed a quick getaway.

Harry was angry with everyone (mostly me, though) for not telling him where it was we were heading to. I almost had, but Tonks had walked into the kitchen just in time to get me to stop. It had made Harry even angrier when I refused to tell him later that night.

"Ali, you won't need any of your first year texts; you're going to get all new ones," I said, rolling my eyes before returning to organizing her trunk.

She sighed noisily. "But what if I need to reference it?"

I just shook my head, mumbling "Ravenclaws," under my breath.

"Kailey, c'mon, I mean it," she whined, though I'm pretty certain she was only using that tone to annoy me. "What if I forget an incantation? Or a potion? Does Professor Snape ever give memorization exams?"

"I think he thinks we're all a group of dunderheads and he wouldn't want to risk destroying his precious potions room," I answered, smirking at her when she huffed.

"But are you sure?"

"I did live with the man for a summer," I replied, rolling my eyes. "Besides, once you do have your new books there won't be any room left for the old ones in your trunk," I added, attempting to rationalize with the over-excited second-year.

To my chagrin, however, her eyes completely lit up. "Of course," she muttered, smiling widely.

"What?" I asked slowly, narrowing my eyes.

"I'll just get dad to shrink all of the books and then have mum or someone teach me how to get them back to normal size. That way I can be totally prepared,"

"Uh huh…here's a better idea. Just borrow a first-year's book if you need to reference it or better yet, use the library's copy," I said, turning back to her trunk to battle with a set of winter robes that had no desire to be folded.

After what felt like hours later, I had finally convinced Alianna to leave the majority of her books behind and the two of us had sat on her trunk to get it closed. Between the two of us, we managed to maneuver it down all three flights of stairs, setting it down next to my trunk near the door. We sat down on our respective trunks, panting slightly when a faint pop alerted us to an apparation in the kitchen.

We glanced at one another before heading into the kitchen to find James leaning close to the fireplace. "What are you doing, Uncle James?"

James started slightly, as he always did when Alianna gave him the title (she only really used it when she wanted something) before smiling uneasily at the two of us. "Just checking the privacy wards on the fireplace," he answered. I frowned, but before I could ask him anything more he asked, "Where's Harry gotten to?"

I huffed a little. "Wouldn't know, he's not been in the best of moods so Ali and I took care of our packing. It was a good thing too since somebody wanted to pack up her entire bedroom," I added with a smirk, letting it turn into a grin when she gave me a small shove.

"Why didn't you just let a house elf help?" he asked, smiling in return.

I shrugged. "Just didn't cross our minds, really,"

He nodded. "Well if you two are ready we can take you over now," he said.

"What about Harry?" Alianna asked, glancing up at the ceiling as though she could see through the plaster and paint. "Shouldn't we wait for him too?"

James shook his head. "The Ministry is watching his Trace more carefully than usual at the moment and we don't want them to know that he's moving. It's bad enough that they figured out we're at one of the family houses, so they know to watch the floo here,"

"How do you know they figured that out?" I asked curiously, tilting my head to the side slightly.

But James frowned at me. "Somebody figured it out; why else would there be a dementor out here? And once he performed that spell, they were able to know for certain where he was,"

I nodded slowly, swapping a glance with Alianna.

"He is _not_ going to be happy,"

James shrugged. "Happy or not, he needs to be safe. As do the rest of you and if a dementor is able to get into this house then you are not safe. I'm sorry, but that's the way it is."

* * *

_Keena's Point of View: _

"The meeting shouldn't take too long," I said as I carefully laid Aradia in Hermione's waiting arms. "If she gets fussy try rocking her or humming to her; that usually gets her settled. If that doesn't work, check to see if her diaper is full…do any of you know how to change a diaper?" I asked at the looks on each of the four girls' faces.

"Er…I took a babysitting course when I was ten…but, well, that was on a plastic doll…" Hermione offered, though she trailed off, glancing down at Aradia, who was sleeping peacefully for the moment.

I glanced at Kailey, though she shook her head. "I was only three when Kaleb was in diapers,"

Snape was due in for a meeting that was set to start the moment he arrived. A good chunk of the Order had gone to fetch Harry, though Lily and Molly had returned with Alianna and Kailey at least three hours ago, since neither of them was being watched carefully by the Ministry at the moment. At least, not to our knowledge.

I focused on the girls again, shaking the negative thoughts from my mind. "It really isn't that hard and I'm sure between the four of you, someone will figure it out,"

"Alright," Ginny answered though she glanced at the baby with a nervous look. To be fair to her, each time she had held Aradia so far she had either been spit up on or worse. Again, I pushed the thoughts away for the moment.

"If she doesn't need a diaper change and she won't calm down, just go ahead and send someone down to get me; just don't bring her downstairs crying, I'm sure you two remember the last time Mrs. Black saw her while she was fussing," I warned, rolling my eyes.

I believe the operative phrases were 'unfit false-blood mother' and 'blood-traitor father' and 'poor innocent, neglected baby granddaughter'. I could only imagine what she would have to say about Hermione babysitting and none of what I imagined was pleasant. Ginny and Hermione nodded fervently while Alianna and Kailey looked on curiously and I was certain that the moment I left they would begin questioning the other two.

After receiving another round of nods, I headed for the stairs, reaching the entrance hall just in time for Snape to walk through the door. He looked tired and grumpy as he eyed me warily, stopping to wait as I approached.

"I heard through the ranks that there was some sort of attack recently?"

I rolled my eyes at him. "Just under a week ago," I answered. "Harry's been suspended and I gave birth nearly four weeks early,"

He frowned at me, raising an eyebrow. "And?"

"He's got a hearing that we'll need to attend but I'll be damned if they think they're getting away with anything," I replied as we began to walk again.

"I meant the baby,"

"Oh," I blushed as he smirked. "She's healthy, thank Merlin, she's upstairs asleep at the moment; I've got the girls watching her. You're more than welcome to come and meet her when this is over. And I'm sure Kailey will want to see you for herself in any case,"

He winced as he put his hand on the door, pausing. "Have her nightmares worsened since we last spoke?"

I shook my head. "I don't know, Severus, I've been here since the attack. Remus mentioned that he'd heard crying a few nights ago, but he wasn't sure,"

"No one else heard?" he growled.

"Careful, Sev, your protective side is showing," I answered with a slight smirk of my own. "And none of the others have hyperactive senses when the moon is a waning gibbous,"

He only grunted in reply as he opened the door.

"Ah, Severus, Keena, we've been expecting you," Dumbledore nodded to us, the room falling into a hushed silence. I suddenly had the impression that it would be a long meeting tonight.

**That's it for 3! Next up is chapter 4! If all goes as planned, it should be up soon! Nice reviews make me smile and I'm willing to take kindly phrased questions any time!**

**:-D**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four: Secretive

**Disclaimed**.

**There was a question about Harry's attitude issues. They shall be addressed shortly. Please enjoy!**

_Kailey's Point of View: _

"Who wants to try next?" I asked, finally breaking the silence.

The other's just shuffled their feet. Aradia just blinked up at us with her big gray eyes. Her crying had finally stopped, thanks to Hermione who had successfully removed the dirty diaper. Unfortunately, her attempt at replacing it had not gone as well.

"Does she really need it?" Ron asked his voice muffled by his hand from his position closer to the door. He was convinced that the smell would be stuck in his nose for days.

Hermione brought a hand to her forehead while Alianna giggled and I rolled my eyes. "Are you that thick on purpose?"Ginny scoffed. Ron's ears turned scarlet but he made no reply other than glaring at his sister.

"You know, I think you are supposed to lift them up," Alianna observed from beside Hermione, talking about Aradia's legs I assumed.

"But what if you jostle her head?" she argued. "I don't want to hurt her,"

"Maybe if one of us picks her up…?" I suggested, trailing off when they all looked at me as though I were insane. "We've got to try something," I mumbled.

"Trouble in paradise?" we all turned to the door where the twins were standing. Apparently they didn't want to apparate into the same room as the baby in case they missed their mark.

"This is not what paradise smells like, George," Fred said, waving a hand in front of his face.

George sniffed before coughing and mimicking his twin. "That answers that question," he choked out.

"So you're changing her nappy?"

Ron snorted. "Trying is more like,"

Hermione huffed. "I don't see you trying,"

Fred laughed, coming into the room with George. "We can help,"

"Seen mum do it loads of times," Fred added.

"Haven't we, Ronnikins?" George grinned.

"Sod off," Ron grumbled, exiting the room.

The twins made quick work of Aradia's problem.

"You know, she's kind of cute," George grinned.

"When she's not screeching," Fred added with a nod.

Suddenly we all froze at the sound of someone yelling. I rolled my eyes and lifted Aradia off of the table, rocking her gently as she sniffled, afraid of the noise. "Is that Harry?" Hermione asked, looking as though she was straining to hear what exactly he was shouting about.

"Yeah," I answered. "And if he doesn't shut up, she's going to start crying again," I added, shaking my head.

The twins grew pale. "We're on it,"

With a slightly messy popping noise, they were gone. We listened to the brief yell of shock before there was silence again.

"What's he so angry about?" Hermione asked, looking between Alianna and me.

"Well…you know how you weren't allowed to say anything over the letters?" I asked cautiously. Ginny narrowed her eyes at me as Hermione nodded. "Ali and I weren't even allowed to say anything about this place to his face," I finished, nodding to the younger girl.

"Why would you do that to him?" Ginny glared. "Isn't it unfair enough that you three weren't allowed to come any sooner? But you wouldn't even tell him any news?"

I glared back at her. "It isn't as though we've been cooped up for weeks without any contact at all. That's what was supposed to happen to him,"

"So? You think its better that you lied to him instead?"

Before I could open my mouth to reply, Aradia gave a tiny whimper, making me realize I had stopped rocking her. "Here Ali, take your sister," I said instead, handing the baby off. "And for your information, Ginny, I have not been lying to him. I was following orders,"

She scoffed. "You make it sound like we're in a war, preparing for battle,"

"What the bloody hell do you think this is, then?" I growled. "Do you think Voldemort's just gonna come back and leave us all alone? Do you think he'll just suddenly decide muggleborns and half-bloods are equal to him? Maybe he'll just bring himself to the Ministry and give himself up to the Aurors. Maybe we won't have to go through all the deaths and tortures and disappearances. Merlin knows, Ginny Weasley has declared that this isn't a war anyhow," my voice was gradually gaining momentum and volume and I just barely managed to stop myself from shouting.

I took a deep steadying breath, closing my eyes for a moment before I looked back at her. Her face was crimson as she grew angrier, but I cut her off when she opened her mouth. "I don't care if you think I was being a bad friend. Whether you want to admit it or not, this is a war and you don't know the consequences of disobeying simple requests. Harry knows where we are now, clearly, so what that he hasn't been here any sooner? At least he still has his family on a regular basis, as do you,"

"Right, he just thought that they were dead for the first thirteen years of his life," she replied scathingly, locking her eyes with mine. "Or is that a fair trade-off?"

"I wasn't saying it was," I answered, forcing myself to stay calm as I clenched both fists. "Do you think I liked having to watch him suffer that way?" I meant it to be rhetorical.

"I think you did," she said. "I think you wanted that power over him,"

"What the in Merlin's beard are you talking about?" I asked, dumbstruck. "Power over him? That's so ridiculous, where did you even come up with that?"

"You're possessive over him," she accused. "Like you own him,"

I raised an eyebrow. "Is that what your problem is? Your little girl crush?" I tried to keep a straight face, but it was hard. She turned red in embarrassment now as I fought not to laugh at her. "If all you're arguing about is the guy you have a crush on, I think I'm done fighting with you," I decided aloud before I forced my expression into a serious one. "Don't think for a second, though, that you care any more for him than I do. Would you have stayed in the graveyard?"

* * *

_Keena's Point of View: _

We stared at Snape in silence. This was possibly the worst news I had ever heard.

"Why would he even think that was true?" James finally spoke, breaking the tension that now filled the room.

"He's paranoid, Johnny; I'm not really surprised that he thinks it's true," Damien answered, shaking his head.

"Is it true?" Hestia Jones asked, eyeing James and Lily warily. "Harry did seem very comfortable with you on the flight over," she added to James, who scratched the back of his currently blonde head nervously.

"Regardless of whether or not it is true, that puts Johnny and Libby at the top of Voldemort's most wanted list," Sirius said, shaking his head. "Especially if he thinks they were brought back from the dead,"

"Who gave Voldemort this information, Severus?" Dumbledore asked his hands steepled together as he gazed at the potions master.

Snape glanced toward Sirius for a moment before answering. "Wormtail swears he saw them as he made his escape from the Shrieking Shack," he replied. "The dark lord used the Malfoy's pensieve to examine the memories several nights ago; apparently he was wary of believing Wormtail's story."

"Could he have sent the dementor to Potter Mansion then?" Lexi asked sharply, glancing at Dumbledore, who shrugged.

"But he would have known that the Harry doesn't live with the Dursleys anymore—even the Ministry realizes that much, so why would they send a dementor to Little Whinging?" I asked, shaking my head.

"Where in Little Whinging were you, Keena?" Remus asked, frowning as though he'd had a sudden thought. Lily's eyes narrowed as did Amanda's.

"Between the park and Privet Drive," I answered slowly before it dawned on me. "Not too far from where we lived all those years," I closed my eyes, rubbing my temples.

"So whoever sent out the dementors knew of the two locations that you, and therefore Harry, were most likely to be at," Tonks surmised.

"How did the moldy wart react to the dementor attack when he heard?" Sirius asked, though Snape sneered at his description.

"He was displeased," Snape answered after a moment. "Both that it had been done without his knowledge and that the attacks failed,"

Nickie snorted. "I could've told you the second half," she said, shaking her head. "So the dark lord is out then, unless he's not telling you everything,"

Snape rolled his eyes.

"But that means it was the Ministry, or someone inside of the Ministry," Kingsley countered in his deep baritone.

"Why not ask your daughter, Severus?" Dedalus Diggle suggested, though he looked as though he'd like to hide from the look that crossed Snape's face.

But it was Dumbledore who answered. "No, if she alters too much with these matters, she may not be able to foresee more deadly encounters,"

"Didn't much help the Diggory boy," Mundungus grunted. Several of us turned to glare at him. "What? It's true, ain't it? I'm not sayin' it's 'er fault er nothing," he grumbled, crossing his arms.

"Watch your tongue, Fletcher," Snape growled, looking as though he'd like to reach for his wand.

"Enough," Dumbledore ordered quietly, though both men settled immediately. "Do you have any other news for us, Severus?"

"Nothing more than the usual has occurred, headmaster," Snape answered, though he was still glaring at Dung. "He is seeking out the giants, but it is taking them longer than expected and he is growing impatient. He has also looked into the werewolf camps, but without Greyback he is finding less support than last time,"

Remus nodded. "It makes sense; there are rumors spreading through the camps that the Wolfsbane is going to be easier to access soon thanks to some 'anonymous research' from the Ministry," he didn't bother to add that he had begun those rumors himself.

"Won't that make them more dangerous?" Hestia countered. "The ones who attack on purpose, that is," she added hastily at the look on Tonks' face.

"For a little while it could, but having the potion makes it easier to hold down a job since it takes that much longer for an employer to figure it out. When these people are able to keep steadier jobs they usually aren't quite as hostile towards society," Remus explained patiently, though I could tell he was frustrated at Hestia's assumption. "Hopefully there'll be an updated version soon,"

"Rumor has it there is one in the works," Amanda said. "The Department of Mysteries has been asking St. Mungo's to send bite victims over to test this new potion,"

Lily fidgeted in her seat. "And how have they been reacting?" I asked when she failed to speak up for herself.

Amanda shrugged. "The few that we do send over don't come back to us so I assume they're reacting well,"

"So if there's a newer, better version of the Wolfsbane coming out that would take some of Voldemort's power over them away, wouldn't you say, Remus?" Arthur offered with a slightly puzzled expression on his face.

Remus thought it over for a moment. "It really depends on the werewolf…I know Greyback probably wouldn't change for anything but there are plenty of others who would consider it. The problem isn't so much the control at full moon as it is the stigma against us,"

"What you're saying, then, is to get the giants we need to give them social acceptance, to get the werewolves we need to give them social acceptance. To get goblin support, they also need social acceptance. And somehow they all tend to think the Voldemort would provide them with that while he socially exterminates…no, literally exterminates every muggleborn, half-blood and blood-traitor that he can find?" James surmised, shaking his head. "What is it we're all fighting over, exactly?"

A few chuckles went around the room before Dumbledore cleared his throat again. "How has guard duty been for those of you who have done so?"

* * *

_Kailey's Point of View: _

"Where's Ginny?" Harry asked suddenly. His mood had improved considerably as he sat on his bed where he and Ron were making faces at Aradia, making her giggle. Alianna was sitting between the boys, holding the baby while Hermione sat on Ron's bed. I was sitting on the floor, leaning against Ron's bed, facing the others. The twins had gone off to the top of the stairs to try and get their extendable ears to work again. Hermione and Alianna both looked down to me.

"I dunno," I answered with a shrug. "Probably in her room,"

"What d'you reckon she's doing there?" Harry asked, turning to face Ron, who shrugged.

"Haven't got a clue," he answered.

"She thinks Kailey doesn't let you make your own decisions," Alianna informed Harry. I brought a hand to my forehead, though Hermione sniggered.

"Ali," I groaned, dragging her name out into a whine.

"What?" she asked indigently. "It's true!"

Harry, on the other hand, snorted. "As if she could control me anyway,"

I looked over at him, raising an eyebrow. He gulped, causing the other three to laugh while I smiled, rolling my eyes. "The point is, we had a bit of a stupid argument and now she doesn't want to speak to me and I really don't wanna speak to her either at the moment." I finished with a shrug. "We'll get over it," I added defensively in response to Hermione's sound of annoyance.

Suddenly the door creaked open and we all looked up to see Mrs. Weasley standing in the doorway. "Oh, there you all are," she said, glancing around at the six of us. "Ginny hadn't known," she added before turning around. "Severus," she called quietly and I sat up straighter. "They're all in here," she continued then turned back to face us. "The meeting's just finished so you can all come down for dinner. Alianna, dear, your mother said to fetch the modesty blanket on your way down to the kitchen; I can take your sister down with me. And Kailey, your father wishes to speak with you before he leaves," she gave the orders briskly before stepping aside and allowing Snape to enter. "C'mon, the rest of you out,"

They scurried out of the room, Alianna handing Aradia off to Mrs. Weasley before she shut the door behind her. I stood up and barely hesitated before moving forward to hug my dad full force. "I missed you," I mumbled against his robes as he hugged me back.

"I've missed you as well," he answered before holding me out at arm's length. "You seem to have grown lovelier during our time apart,"

I rolled my eyes at him, but blushed anyway. "That's wicked corny, dad," I muttered.

He paused. "Have you been having nightmares about your mother?" he asked quietly.

Before I could reply a two-part chorus of screaming arose from downstairs. Apparently someone had awakened Mrs. Black who must have frightened Aradia. With a roll of his eyes, Snape took out his wand and flicked it towards the door, silencing the noise.

"Have you?" he persisted once he was facing me again.

"What makes you say that?" I asked defensively, looking away from him.

"You said 'wicked'," he stated as though it were obvious. I frowned at him and he rolled his eyes. "Your mother used to say it in that context, as though it were a substitute for the word 'very' and I assume you did as well,"

I didn't answer which seemed to only make him more confident in his argument.

"I'm sorry," he said, pulling me close for a second hug as I registered that he'd noticed the tears in my eyes. "I know this is hard for you, but please remember I will never truly reject you. The things I say at Hogwarts...don't listen to any of it. You are my daughter and no one in this world is more important to me than you,"

Again, I made no verbal reply, just hugged him tighter for a moment. "Dad...if this year's defense professor ever gives me a detention…" I paused, unsure if I really wanted to ask this or not. The scar on my face gave a slight, startling throb as if in reminder. "Just please, could you request to take it? I don't care what you have to make me do, just please don't let me be in detention with…that professor,"

I leaned away from him to look up at his face. He was frowning at me. "Shall I tell the Headmaster not to hire this person?"

I shook my head. "He won't have a choice," I replied. "Could you do that, though? Or at least try?"

He continued to frown at me, but nodded slowly regardless. "I shall do my best,"

I sighed in relief, giving him one more hug.

We spoke quietly for a few more minutes before my stomach gave a startling loud grumble. He smirked at me as I blushed and we made our way towards the stairs. "I'll see you again soon," he promised, giving me one last hug before he was out the door.

I headed down the hall, taking care not to make a sound.

"You there! Girl!" I jumped at the sound of a shrill, grating voice and found myself facing a portrait of a strained, pale-looking woman. Her hair was tied in a severe bun and her face was pinched. On either side of her portrait were moth-eaten silk hangings. "I have not seen you before," she stated arrogantly. "What is your name and blood status?"

I blinked at her, before smiling wickedly. _Let's see how you react when you hear the name Prince…_ I drew myself up and looked her in the eye. "My name is Kailey Snape and I'm the last heir to the Prince family line," I answered, trying to imitate the arrogant sound of her voice.

Her eyes grew wide and a frighteningly insane smile swept over her features. "An heiress of the Prince line? In this great and noble house?" she cackled and I had to fight to keep my expression straight and not go bolting in the other direction. "Well, finally, some respectable blood! Oh yes, my granddaughters are pure as can be but when comparing the Potter family with the Prince line…well, that's hardly a contest,"

"Yes, well, I'm on my way to dinner. I don't suppose you could tell me which way to the kitchen?" I asked, holding up a hand to inspect my nails, as though I didn't really care about her answer.

"Oh, and a proper attitude to match!" she sounded positively thrilled and I sniggered inside. "Right down that hall, Ms. Snape, I'm sure you'll hear the riffraff," she dismissed, with a wave of her hand.

I gave her a slight nod to show my thanks before heading in the direction she had pointed me in. As I drew closer to the door, I could indeed hear the 'riffraff' and I smiled to myself. Even though it may not be enjoyable to have knives flying across the kitchen, it was certainly more interesting than a stuffy pureblood group that was for sure.

* * *

_Keena's Point of View: _

James, who had taken off his glamour once Mundungus Fletcher had left, knocked me to the floor just as a knife went whizzing past where I had sat with Aradia moments before. Thankfully, the blanket and baby had both stayed in place.

"Merlin, you alright, Keena?" James asked, helping to lift me off of the ground while keeping everything covered.

"Just winded," I said a little dizzily, peeking to see that Aradia was alright. "I don't think she even noticed," I added, laughing a little as Molly began rounding on the twins.

"She's on a mission," Sirius said, coming up behind me and planting a kiss on my head.

"Just like her dad," Lily commented, lifting the pot of stew off the corner of the table and setting it in the middle where it was less likely to fall. "Food comes first," she added as though it were obvious when Sirius and James just stared at her curiously.

"Lets eat then, shall we?" Bill suggested into the sudden silence from the other end of the room.

A quiet knock on the open door alerted us to Kailey's arrival as we all sat down to eat.

The meal was full of pleasant and amusing conversation for the most part right up until the end of desert. Alianna was leaning against Tonks across the table from me, yawning. Hermione and Kailey were muttering under their breath as they had been doing for much of the evening while Ron argued with the twins over something involving Quidditch and Viktor Krum. Ginny, however, was sitting on the other end of the table, next to her mother and sulking over something. Arthur was sitting back in his chair with a comfortable smile on his face, watching as James and Remus bantered with Lily, Bill giving his two Knut's worth every so often. I glanced behind me to the crib where Aradia was currently sleeping before looking over to Harry, who was sitting on Sirius' other side.

"Something troubling you, Harry?" I asked, leaning past Sirius. Harry only shrugged; turning back to his plate to spin his spoon around in what little remains of custard there was left.

Sirius barely contained a snort. "I'm surprised with you Harry; you've spent weeks asking the girls questions and now you're silent."

"Well, I did ask Ron more but he said since we're not in the Order we're not allowed to know so…" he trailed off when he noticed everyone watching him, but it was all too easy to detect the anger that he was still feeling underneath his words.

"And he was right, they're all too young in any case," Molly said from the other end of the table, moving to stand and start clearing the table. "I think it's time for bed then,"

"Wait a moment, it isn't as though he can't at least ask his questions," Sirius replied, giving Molly a look. "He doesn't have to be a member to ask. He and Kailey at least have the right—"

"Wait a second," George spoke up angrily.

"Why do they get their questions answered?" Fred continued.

"We're at least of age!"

"Well, that's up to your parents," I answered before Sirius could, though he had a look of agreement on his face. "But Harry—"

"It is not necessarily up to you two to decide what's good for Harry," Molly interrupted, giving me a stern look.

"No, that would be for us to decide," James interjected, sounding annoyed. That only seemed to serve to make Molly angrier.

"And between the four of you, how many children have you actually raised from birth?" she fumed, glaring at all of us. "How would you know what was best for them?"

But Molly wasn't the only red head in the room prone to anger and Lily seethed at her words. "Don't you _dare_," she hissed. "Don't you dare try and tell me that I don't know what's best for my son,"

The two women glared at each other and I cleared my throat. "Harry is not a child, and I could be wrong," I stated sarcastically. "But I do think he knows how to speak and he can make this decision without help,"

"I do want to know," Harry inserted quickly before the words had fully left my mouth.

"Molly," Arthur interrupted sternly when she opened her mouth to argue. "They're his parents and that's all there is to it,"

She huffed. "Fine, but the rest of you, bed. Now,"

"But he isn't of age!"

"He's _my _age!"

"I want to know too!"

"No!" she cried, refraining from yelling only because of the sleeping baby's presence. "I will not allow it!"

"Molly, Fred and George are of age now," Arthur said tiredly, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I understand that they're still at school," he added before she could. "But they are legal adults."

"But—fine! Ron, Hermione, Kailey, Ginny, bed!" she cast Sirius a glare as she left Alianna's name out.

"Kailey already knows and Harry'll just tell us everything you say anyway!" Ron argued, glancing at Harry. "Won't you?"

"Yeah, of course," Harry answered with barely a moment's hesitation.

Molly looked ready to explode. "Ginny! Bed!"

"That's so unfair! What about Alianna?" she shouted, pointing at my wide-eyed daughter.

"Mum? May I?" Alianna asked, turning to look at me with a beseeching gaze.

I glanced at Sirius, who bit his lip. I sighed, shaking my head. "Not tonight, love. You really aren't old enough for this."

"Tell you what," Sirius said, leaning forward as her face fell. "You can ask your own questions later and we'll think about which ones to answer for you. In the mean time, you can take your sister upstairs with you and put her to bed. Alright?"

She sighed. "Okay," she replied, standing and coming around the table to give Sirius and me a hug goodnight before going over to the crib to lift up her sister.

Ginny grumbled as Molly ushered her out of the room, Alianna following them quietly with Aradia.

"So," Remus started to try and alleviate some of the tension. "What questions do you have then, Harry?"

"What's Voldemort up to?" he asked immediately, but Kailey rolled her eyes.

"I've already told you that one; he's recruiting," she said, shaking her head. "Just like we're trying to do,"

"What d'you mean trying?" Harry persisted, looking from her to us.

"Just what I said I meant the other day; the Ministry is being obtuse," she rolled her eyes again.

"Meaning what exactly?" he replied hotly, not even bothering to look at her this time.

"You remember how Fudge acted that night?" at Harry's nod, James continued. "Well, his attitude hasn't changed. He's convinced himself that Dumbledore's lost it and is only trying to make trouble,"

"Which is making it very difficult for us to gain more members," Sirius added.

"They're discrediting Dumbledore at every turn," Remus put in. "They've taken him off the Wizengamot and there's talk to revoking his Order of Merlin, First Class as well,"

"How does that affect Sirius' innocence?" Kailey asked suddenly, as though the thought had just occurred to her. "You don't think they'll try anything, do you?"

But I shook my head. "Without sufficient evidence to go against him, they can't bring anything back up again. They would need to find something new, aside from Wormtail's finger and it would be easy enough to give them a memory from the Shrieking Shack with his face in it and nothing else,"

"So they've taken some of his titles, but how does that convince people he's lost it?" Harry asked, dragging us back to the original topic.

"Because the _Prophet's _been writing about it," Arthur answered. "We're just lucky Rita Skeeter is out of the picture, or it'd be that much worse," he added with a shake of his head.

"Dumbledore isn't the only one who can spread it around though," Harry argued. "There's the rest of the Order too, isn't there?"

"Half of us would lose our jobs at the Ministry," Tonks answered, shaking her head. "So we can't be quite as vocal,"

"And the only ones that Sirius and I see are the students," I added, nodding to my fiancée. "Granted, we have a lot of influence, but we don't want parents to start pulling their kids out of Hogwarts; that would be the opposite of helpful,"

"Our return would be counter-productive at the moment," Lily said quietly. "Just another secret Dumbledore kept from Fudge," she added at the confused looks from the kids.

"That may not matter soon," Sirius mumbled under his breath, and I kicked him in the shin in response.

"There's got to be more to it than that though," one of the twins replied.

"Isn't there?" the other added and they all turned to look at us.

I exchanged a look with Remus. "There is," he said evenly. "Followers aren't all that he is focused on getting,"

"What else is there?" Harry asked, leaning forward slightly. I glanced at Kailey. She had looked a little bored, but now she was leaning in towards the conversation a little bit as well.

"Things that he can get only by stealth and secrecy," Arthur answered carefully. "Things that half the Ministry don't even know about,"

"Six sevenths, actually," Tonks corrected. "If you want to be precise,"

"How do you know that?" this time, it was Hermione who asked, though Harry nodded in agreement and even Kailey looked mildly curious.

"Is that just the number of people they accept?" Kailey asked, clearly knowing it was the Department of Mysteries that we were discussing.

"It doesn't matter," Lily replied, diverting the attention away from Tonks. "The point is, what they have, Voldemort wants terribly," she ignored the shudders that half the room provided.

"It isn't the only thing he wants, mind you," Sirius added, throwing a glance towards James, who shook his head.

"Is it something that goes with it?" Kailey asked, frowning. Everyone turned to stare at her, making her jump a little as she realized it. "What? Aren't I allowed to be curious about some things as well?"

"The fact that you even know what we're talking about just makes me all the more nervous," Lily said, rubbing her temples. Kailey rolled her eyes.

"But yes," I said, looking from Lily to Kailey. "You could say that the two are related,"

"Is it some kind of weapon?" Harry asked, his brow furrowed.

"Let's just say we'd be at a large disadvantage if he was to get his hands on any of it," Remus answered after a moment. "It's something no one had and precious few people knew about last time,"

"What could possibly be worse than the killing curse?" Harry asked, sounding worried as Ron and Hermione exchanged glances.

"No more,"

We all turned towards the door to see Molly standing there with her arms crossed, her face still reddened. "They don't need to know anything more than that. You may as well have them sign on if you tell them the rest!" she grumbled. "Weasley children," she added, emphasizing their last name. "Off to bed. Now,"

"Harry, you as well," Lily said, leaning forward in order to look at him properly. Then she looked towards Molly. "You and I need to talk, Molly," she added.

"After they've been put to bed," Molly answered.

"I'll see that they don't get distracted," I said, standing up. "I need to check on the girls in any case," I added before she could argue with me.

She gave me a stiff nod and I led the kids out of the kitchen, noting that the door closed with a snap behind us. It was a safe bet that they had put up silencing wards since no screaming erupted. "It's probably a good idea for all of you to go straight to sleep," I said quietly as we reached the stairs. The twins gave me a look. "Your mother has basically just lost one of her children; she's going to be over-protective for at least a little while. Don't push her too hard," Ron nodded, looking slightly guilty, as did Kailey and Hermione. "Harry? Are you alright?" I asked gently.

"I'm fine," he all but snapped. I raised an eyebrow at him, but he continued to give me the same look.

"Why don't you and I talk for a bit?" I suggested, not meaning to give him a choice.

"No, I'm fine, really," he insisted, shaking his head, reaching out for the door knob to his and Ron's room.

"Let me rephrase that, Harry," I said quietly. "Come and talk with me for a bit,"

Jaw set with a slight glare in place, Harry followed me to the drawing room, saying goodnight to the others as we went. I lit the lamps and set up a silencing spell before taking a seat on one of the fold out chairs that was set up in the room; it hadn't been fully decontaminated yet. I gestured for Harry to sit and he did so, though he remained stiff.

"Harry, please, talk to me," I said after a moment when he continued to glare at the floor. "You've been in a mood all night, won't you tell me why?"

"Why should I tell any of you anything?" he muttered.

I frowned at him. "Did we not answer enough of your questions?"

"No, it's not that, it's that I needed to ask them at all!" he ground out, looking up at me with fierce eyes. "I was the one who watched him come back; I was the one who fought him!" his voice was gradually gaining volume as he continued. "But nobody ever seems to want to tell me anything! Why should I have to go looking for answers? WHY CAN'T ANYBODY EVER JUST TELL ME THE TRUTH!" his last shout left him panting in anger as I watched him.

"You're not just talking about Voldemort," I stated cautiously. He glared even harder at me.

"Mrs. Weasley was right," he replied, obviously trying to control his volume. "At least partially,"

I closed my eyes, unsure of what to say. "Harry—"

"I might as well be an orphan," he snapped.

My eyes snapped open to find him standing in front of me and my eyes met his full on, matching his gaze in intensity, if not in anger, and he looked away from me.

"I'm sorry," he muttered, almost choking on his words.

I took a deep breath, exhaling slowly as I stood and walked over to him, engulfing him in a tight hug as he began to shudder. "I know," I said quietly, rubbing his back. "Harry, you need to talk to them about this,"

"How? How do I bring this up with them? I've only known them for a year, Keena, and I'm fifteen," he was shaking in my arms, his head resting on my shoulder. "Sirius has a legitimate excuse; it wasn't his fault he was in Azkaban. And you and Remus at least lived close by and watched over me. But they just stayed in the forest…why did they just hide?"

"They weren't just hiding, Harry," I said after a moment's hesitation, pulling away from him slightly. "And Merlin, Harry, I know you'll hate me for saying this, but I can't tell you everything that they've been doing. Not for a long while yet," I lifted a hand to wipe away an escaped tear from his face.

His scowl was ruined by the water in his eyes. "More secrets?"

"This is a secret that nobody else even in the Order knows," I answered with a shake of my head. "But they—well, your mum—was also working on creating a potion. An upgrade to the Wolfsbane to be specific,"

"To…cure werewolves?"

"Eventually, yes," I answered. "All they want is to make the world safer, to protect you," I said, cutting him off when he opened his mouth to argue. "I'm not excusing what they've done, Harry, but I am saying that I can understand it better now. They would do anything for you,"

He shook his head sadly. "Except come out in the open,"

**So ends chapter 4 (I hope I answered your question, live2luv!). Next will come number 5, so keep your eyes open! Much love!**

**:-D**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five: The Seventh Horcrux

**Disclaimed**

**Here's number five! I hope you enjoy it!**

_Kailey's Point of View: _

I froze, staring wide-eyed at the locket that Hermione and Ginny were trying to open.

There had been obvious tension between Mrs. Weasley and Lily and even Keena seemed upset over something from last night. We had all exchanged a number of questioning glances at breakfast, but before anybody could ask, Mrs. Weasley had whisked us away to begin house work.

"Kailey?" Ron said, waving a hand in front of my face and I jumped, giving him an odd look. "Did you even hear what I said?" he asked, smirking as he laughed at me.

"Um…no, sorry, hang on a sec?" I requested, not waiting for him to answer as I walked over to Ginny and Hermione. "I think you should put that down," I said quietly, pointing to the large, silver locket in Hermione's hand.

"Why? It's just a locket," Ginny asked, though Hermione gingerly placed it on the table, probably noting the look on my face. Ginny glanced at Hermione before looking back at me. "Isn't it?"

Slowly, I shook my head. "I don't think it is…"

"Girls?" Mrs. Weasley called over to us. "Don't just stand there, keep working,"

I bit my lip, but didn't move. The other two just stared at me.

"What's the problem?" Mrs. Weasley asked, coming to stand next to us.

I hesitated before answering. "I think someone should get Lily or Keena up here,"

Moments later, the room was crowded with four of the Marauders as they examined the locket; Remus had received a letter from the Ministry asking him to take part in a test for a new version of the Wolfsbane Potion for the next several days. "Molly, would you take the children elsewhere?" Keena asked finally looking up from their group, and gesturing to the rest of us.

If Mrs. Weasley found the request odd, she did not say so, instead moving to usher the group of us from the room.

"Kailey, stay please," I froze in my tracks at James' request and the others shot me looks ranging from jealousy to curiosity as they exited the room, Mrs. Weasley shutting the door behind them.

"Is this a horcrux?" James asked point blank as soon as he finished putting up a silencing charm. I bit my lip again, shrugging slightly.

"I _think_ it is," I answered slowly. "I haven't literally seen that it is yet…"

"What makes you think it if it's not in your source?" Lily questioned.

"I…it just fits. And I didn't say that it wasn't in there," I added a little defensively. "But it makes sense, because when they go to find it and it isn't there there's a fake in its place," I said quickly. "And when they open the fake, it has this note and it's signed from RAB which I think stand for Regulus A Black except they don't know that…well, neither did you…except now you do," I finished, trailing off slightly and blushing.

James looked slightly confused as Lily turned back to the locket with a calculating expression. Keena, on the other hand, looked up at Sirius, who was staring at me open-mouthed.

"Are you saying you haven't looked at that last one yet?" Lily asked finally, looking back at me.

"That's beside the point," I muttered, looking down to study my shoes.

"Why would Regulus steal one of these?" Sirius asked in a hoarse whisper and I looked up at him. His expression was between furious and shocked.

"The note…it says something about hoping it's destroyed, even if he…died." I looked away from them all again as Sirius blinked in confusion. When I glanced back up at him, he was shaking his head.

"No way," he said. "Not Regulus, he wouldn't do something like that, not for himself or anybody else,"

"Sirius," Keena said gently, placing a hand on his arm. He shook her off, stalking out of the room.

"Finish that source and see if it's true; we'll keep the locket safe in the meantime. We can't destroy it here in any case," James said, watching Sirius as he left. "I'll talk to him," he added to his sister, who nodded.

"You do realize that this was direct interference?" Lily asked me quietly as James headed out the door. "No one was in any danger today," she added when I looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

"No," I agreed quietly. "Not today, he wasn't. Give it another year and a half, though, and the story changes," I shook my head, rubbing the back of my neck before glancing at them. "I'll start reading it tonight and see where the rest of them are,"

Keena nodded at me and I left the room to find the others.

* * *

_Keena's Point of View: _

Kailey did not surface for the rest of the day. When asked that night at dinner, Hermione revealed that she was in their room, reading.

"Well, she can put it down long enough to come and eat," Molly said briskly. "Go on and fetch her, Hermione dear,"

Hermione returned a few minutes later, but Kailey was not with her. "She says she's not hungry," I swapped a worried look with Lily.

Molly shook her head. "Go back up and tell her that that is no excuse; she needs to come downstairs and eat with the rest of us,"

Hermione sighed. "She said if you said something like that to tell you she's not feeling very well and she doesn't think the smell of food is a good idea right now,"

"Then she needs a potion," Lily said, moving to stand up until she spotted Hermione shaking her head.

"She said if you said something like _that_, that she just wants to be alone for a little while," she explained before hesitating. "She's been crying," she added softly. "And she had a little piece of parchment sitting next to her with a few tally marks on them…she wouldn't say what they meant,"

I closed my eyes and took a steadying breath before opening them. "It means she's not coming downstairs for dinner anytime soon," I said, looking towards the others before standing up. "I'll go talk to her,"

I made my way up to Hermione and Kailey's bedroom quietly, gently knocking on the door before pushing it open. The room appeared to be empty at first glance, with each of the beds on opposite walls. But then I noticed that one of the beds was a little further from the wall than it should have been and I saw that Kailey had wedged herself between it and the wall. She didn't notice me as she stared at the page in front of her, her eyes wide in shock and her mouth open in horror. I was about to clear my throat when she gasped, dropping the book as though it had burned her.

"Oh, Kailey," I murmured as she curled herself into a ball and began to sob uncontrollably. With a swift flick of my wand, I moved the bed away from the wall so that I could get to her without struggling. I knelt down beside her and lifted the book from the ground, placing it on the bed before taking her into my arms.

"H—He's…"

"Hush, it's alright," I said, rubbing her back gently. "Things are already different; we'll get through this, I promise," she shook in my arms, trying to regain control of her breathing.

"I—I was skimming f-for horcruxes…b-but I—I…and n—now he's g—going to…"

"Somebody died," I answered quietly, holding her close and rocking her slightly. "It's a war, love, and some people will d—"

"Not him!" she interrupted before her sobs became uncontrollable once again. "Not him, h—he can't…he j—just can't…"

"He won't," I sighed, hoping to calm her down. "We won't let him," I said, hoping I wasn't promising the impossible.

"N—no matter what?" she asked, looking up at me with reddened eyes.

I nodded, giving her one last tight squeeze before standing up. "C'mon, let's wash your face up in the bathroom then we'll go down to dinner. And no more reading tonight, it can wait," I said, wrapping an arm around her shoulder as we headed to the bathroom.

Over the next few days, Kailey's mood fluctuated almost in tune with Harry's attitude. When she was happier, he was happier. When he was grouchy, she became depressed. I voiced my observation to Sirius one night after I had put Aradia to bed but was only greeted by a large snore.

Two days before Harry's scheduled hearing, I was in the kitchen with Molly, who was making lunch, when the flames glowed green in the fireplace. We both looked up to see Dumbledore's head sitting happily among the flames. "Good afternoon, Molly, Keena," he said, nodding slightly. "I was hoping to stop by later tonight if that's alright with you?"

"Goodness, Headmaster, you're welcome to come and go as you please," Molly replied with a shake of her head.

"I'll let the others know," I added with a slight nod. "Is it to do with the Ministry hearing at all?" I asked out of curiosity before he could lift his head from the flames.

He heaved a heavy sigh and I bit my lip. "Partially, yes. But it's also to do with your part,"

"Merlin, Dumbledore, if they try to get anything on me you know that there will be hell to pay," I growled, giving him a look. Again, he sighed.

"I realize it, Keena, but we shall talk of it more tonight," he answered. "I'd also like a word with Kailey tonight; Severus mentioned that she had been in quite a state when he spoke to her yesterday,"

Molly and I exchanged glances. She had cried for an hour after he'd left and wouldn't say a word about it to any of us. "She's been that way for a few days now," I replied quietly. "Maybe it isn't such a good idea to let her do this,"

But Dumbledore shook his head. "It is too late to change any of it now," I opened my mouth to argue but he cut me off. "I will see you all later tonight, then," and with a swirl of ash and flame, he was gone.

"Bloody old goat," I grumbled, shaking my head, ignoring it when Molly shot me a look. "Well he is," I mumbled as a cry sounded over the baby monitor that sat on the kitchen counter. I sighed, standing to head upstairs as the monitor began to grow louder in volume. "I'll have to thank Arthur again; there's nothing wrong with monitors that yell at you when you don't respond to your child right away,"

Molly chuckled. "Say that when you have a pair of toddlers and two babies and then we'll see how much you appreciate them,"

* * *

_Kailey's Point of View: _

There were no words that could really describe it. I had tried to just skim through to find out where the other horcruxes were but I couldn't find the seventh one. And then I did find it. I glanced across the table at Harry again as we all sat at dinner. His hearing was in two days and I could tell he was getting anxious and even though I was partially certain that there was little to worry about, I was getting worried too.

He looked up at me then and frowned. "What?"

"Nothing," I mumbled looking away from him and back at my own plate.

I wasn't hungry, but with the combined efforts of Lily, Mrs. Weasley and Keena (all of them seeming to try and out do the others maternally), I managed to swallow down half of my serving of food. They didn't complain; it was more than last night and lunch combined. We all helped to clear the table and were about to head up to bed once dinner was over but James caught my attention.

"Kailey, stay down here a moment please,"

I swapped glances with Hermione, who shrugged, and I sat back down at my seat while everyone else left the kitchen. "What's going on?"

"Dumbledore is coming over tonight; he wanted to speak with you," Mrs. Weasley informed me as she washed the few remaining dishes.

"About what exactly?" I asked, narrowing my eyes.

"A number of things, I suspect," Lily replied.

"And you would be correct," I looked around to see Dumbledore stepping out of the fireplace, lifting his wand to vanish the soot from his robes. "However, I would like to speak with you alone, Ms. Snape, if it would be alright,"

I nodded, though my eyes were still narrowed as I gazed at the ancient headmaster.

"Very good, we shall return in a moment," he said briskly, beckoning to me with a finger and leading me down the hall to the recently cleansed dining room. He lit the few, short candles with his wand and conjured up two comfortable chairs for us to sit in before he raised his wand a final time to set a silencing charm. Finally, we sat and he stowed his wand away. "I detect some anger from you this night, Ms. Snape,"

I set my jaw as I stared at him.

"Is it something I have done?"

"You've as good as done it already," I snapped, letting my frustration and fear seep into one emotion. "You know that there are seven horcruxes. The ring, the diary, the cup and the locket have all been found. And I suspect that _you_ have thoughts about a fifth, at least," my lips began to tremble and I knew I wouldn't be able to stop the tears once they did come.

He closed his eyes, a gaunt expression over taking his features. "I have been able to do much research, more than the others have, and I have my suspicions of the final three evils,"

He opened his eyes and I was even angrier when I saw that no remorse lay in them. "Let's have the list, then," I growled, folding my arms. "You tell me what they are and how they must be destroyed and then I'll tell you what I think,"

"Very well," he agreed, all too happy to receive the promise of an answer. "Since he has used items from each Hufflepuff and Slytherin, it makes sense that he would also use a token of Ravenclaw. Her lost diadem seems like the most likely item and I have even spoken to the Gray Lady over the matter already,"

"Have you looked for it at all?" I asked, not changing my angry expression.

"I have not, but I plan to once the school year begins again," he answered, bowing his head slightly. "Next, I believe Voldemort would want at least one horcrux near him at all times. His pet snake, Nagini, can defend herself quite well,"

"No kidding," I replied, rolling my eyes and gesturing to the twin pinprick scars on my left forearm.

"Indeed," he nodded before continuing. "As such, I believe he would entrust to her a piece of his soul. It would also explain her unnaturally long life as well as why she was able to help nurse him to health again,"

I frowned at him. "I don't remember telling you about that…" I mumbled, trailing off as I spotted the twinkle in his eye give a glimmer.

"I do not need to be informed of everything, Ms. Snape,"

I rolled my eyes again. "Alright, so what of the last one, professor, do you already know it?" I asked, focusing on my anger again. "Have you already begun making arrangements over it? Or do you plan on acting as though you never knew?"

He heaved a sigh. "The seventh horcrux was an accident; it is regretful that it must be destroyed,"

"Don't call him an 'IT'!" I snapped, standing. Calmly, he regarded me. "I can't _believe_ you've allowed this to happen! Have you even looked for other ways or are you all set with his sacrifice? Hasn't he suffered enough thanks to your _stupidity_ already?"

"I am in the process of searching out other ways and thanks to the deliverance of your message to the past, there is a way to save him once it is over," he replied, choosing to ignore my last comment entirely.

His statement took me aback. I stared at him, one eyebrow raised in confusion. "I have no clue what you mean. How did sending me back in time do anything like that?"

He replied with one of his patented I-know-everything smiles. "Why, Ms. Snape, if you had never gone to the past Keena would not exist. Without Keena, the Revival Spell would not have been invented,"

"But that's assuming you can get to his body!" I shouted angrily. "What do you think Voldemort's gonna do? Just hand him back over to you? If he wasn't past putting the Cruciatus on me when I couldn't even feel it happening, what do you think he'll do with his d—d—" my throat choked and I couldn't get past the word. I pressed the heels of my hands to my eyes, trying to keep the tears in as best I could, my knees trembling. "H—how do I t-tell him?"

"You mustn't," the utter harshness of his tone froze me in place and I slowly lifted my tear-streaked face to stare at him. It was one of the first times I had ever seen Dumbledore truly livid and it terrified me. He stood before me, taller than I could remember him being, giving me a stern stare. "Harry cannot know of this and neither can his godparents or parents. In fact, do not tell a soul of what you have learned,"

I looked at him worriedly. "S—sir, I c—can't _lie_ to them," I said, shaking my head. "Th—they need to know so they c—can start h—helping,"

"Ms. Snape, if they were to learn of this now they would not treat Harry in the same way, and you and I are both aware of how much he desires normalcy. You already know so much about the future that the way you treat people is consistent. Imagine for a moment that you suddenly knew something about Keena's future. Something terrible. Would you treat her the same as you do now?"

I bit my lip and looked away from the headmaster, wiping a stray tear from my face and running my hand across my scar in the process. My hand lingered there an instant too long and he spoke again.

"Had you known that your name would be thrown out of the goblet as well, would you have said something before even meeting the imposter last year?"

I sniffed. "Yes…now that I know how it all happened…" I whispered, not meeting his eyes and sitting back down.

"How did the story end?" he asked gently coming to bend on one knee in front of me.

I shook my head at him. "I don't know…I only skimmed to learn the locations of the horcruxes, I didn't let myself actually read it,"

He nodded. "You must do so, Kailey," the switch from last name to first caught me by surprise. "Lives may be depending on it,"

I nodded slowly. "But I won't until after the hearing,"

"Alright, so long as you complete it before your return to Hogwarts; I do not want you to bring that book with you there is far too much valuable information within," he warned before giving me a gentle squeeze on the shoulder. "Your bravery is to be admired, Ms. Snape," he added. "I'm sure you shall continue to make us all very proud,"

I just nodded in response, letting the tears run silently down my face.

"I have only one more thing to ask of you tonight, Ms. Snape," he said, moving to sit back down across from me. I only looked at him, giving him a blank stare and nothing more. "Harry will need a witness; were you conscious the entire attack?"

I nodded. "I was…I suppose the house elves would not suffice as witnesses?"

Dumbledore produced a wary smile. "I'm afraid not, but they may request to see your memories of the attack seeing as you are so famously close to Harry and they may not take your word for it at once,"

"I don't mind," I mumbled, running a hand over the faint snake bite for a moment. "Will they see the visions of Voldemort that the dementors made me remember?"

He shook his head. "No, they shall see only what was there,"

I sighed unhappily before sniffing again. "Was there anything else you wanted from me?"

He surveyed me for a moment, contemplating his response before slowly shaking his head. "No, Ms. Snape, I do not wish to burden you with more than you can bear,"

What I wanted to say was something like: 'Oh, so you do realize that I don't want to do this anymore and I am going to go insane with guilt as I agonize over how to avoid telling anybody about this!' but what came out was, "Alright, sir,"

_I either need to grow a backbone against Dumbledore or have someone obliviate me...possibly both…_

* * *

_Keena's Point of View: _

The headmaster returned to the kitchen, accepting a cup of tea when Molly offered it to him as he took a seat at the head of the table, opposite Arthur. "Did you find out why she's been in such a mood?" James asked without preamble, one arm wrapped around Lily's shoulders.

Dumbledore nodded. "I did, James,"

"And?" Sirius said, dragging out the word when Dumbledore added nothing more.

"It is a matter between Ms. Snape and myself," he replied, setting the cup down onto the table, looking Sirius in the eye, though both of mine narrowed. "But she has also agreed to witness in Harry's defense during the hearing,"

"Is there anything else about that which we should know about?" Lily asked, choosing to accept his blatant change of subject.

"At the moment there is not, but Orion informed me earlier today that he was asked to act as a guard during the proceedings, which leads me to believe there could be a change in venue," he answered, pushing his glasses up a little further on his crooked nose. "I do not think arriving a tad early would go amiss,"

"We can do that," Sirius agreed, nodding.

"You said earlier that there was something about my part in the attack, professor," I said, trying to keep my temper in check. "I trust it's nothing ridiculous like the Ministry fighting against my actions."

"They are claiming it has to do with the Statute of Secrecy," he answered, sighing and shaking his head. "Because magic was performed in front of a muggle,"

"That's bull, Dumbledore," James seethed. "My sister was attacked! What was she supposed to do? Let the damn thing suck out all of their souls?"

"Not only that but she was pregnant!" Sirius exploded, slamming a hand on the table. "And our oldest daughter was there too! Don't these people look into those things?"

"They're trying to discredit me, aren't they?" I asked angrily. "They think that by saying I performed large-scale magic in front of a muggle that they can tear apart my family, don't they?"

Dumbledore shifted in his seat uncomfortably and I'll admit that it was an odd sight to see. "I'm afraid that some of the Ministry's benefactors have publicized the view that since you and Sirius are not wed and are (according to most of the wizarding world) still pregnant that you are not suitable parents for adoption,"

"What does that mean?" Sirius asked slowly.

I had never seen Dumbledore look so…_worried_. "They are going to attempt to revoke your rights to Alianna,"

"WHAT?" I shouted, jumping up.

I couldn't be bothered by the shrieking that began resounding from Mrs. Black's portrait down the hall, though I twitched when the baby monitor alerted me to Aradia's cries. Molly half-sprinted from the room, saying she'd fetch the baby while Arthur muttered something about silencing Mrs. Black. The rest of us just stared at Dumbledore in shock.

"How long have you known about this?" I growled, narrowing my eyes at the old man.

"This afternoon I was informed,"

I completely lost it. "AND YOU WAITED UNTIL _NOW_? WE COULD HAVE DONE SOMETHING, OR AT LEAST STARTED SOMETHING! NOW WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO?"

Mrs. Black, who had just been silenced, began screeching again and I could hear Arthur shouting at the kids upstairs to get back to bed, though the monitor was silent now.

"Keena, love, calm down," Sirius started, but I cut him off.

"DON'T YOU _DARE_ TELL ME TO _CALM_ DOWN! AND YOU!" I brought my wand out in a flash, aiming it at the headmaster without a thought. "YOU WILL FIX THIS, I WILL NOT HAVE EITHER OF MY GIRLS TAKEN FROM ME!"

"No, you shall not," he agreed, though he did eye my wand warily. "Thankfully, there is a simple solution that would completely solve the problem since we are in the wizarding world and our laws have not changed as drastically as is the case with muggles,"

"Spit. It. Out," I growled as Sirius managed to get me to sit back down as he yanked my wand out of my hand.

"Alianna's blood is already yours, joined into one as is Aradia's," he began cautiously. "The adoption process is complete and you would invalidate the Ministry's argument simply by becoming joined in marriage,"

My glare transformed into a frown. "That's it?"

"Hang on," Sirius said, sounding angrier than he had moments before. "Are you trying to tell us that we have to get married within the next two days?"

But Dumbledore was shaking his head. "No, within the next day but all that must be done is the signing of the magical contract,"

"But what about the vows and the rings and all that?" Sirius asked, sounding angrier with each word as I digested the information.

"Those are not required by wizard law," Dumbledore replied. "Which is exceedingly archaic," he admitted.

"You want us to _elope_, then?"

"Alright,"

Everyone turned to stare at me. "I still want my actual wedding, but if a damn piece of parchment is all I need to keep my daughters safe and with me…Sirius we have to," I added quietly, shaking my head as he gave me a look of complete astonishment.

"Is there anything else that we need to know involving any of this?" James sighed, running a hand through his renegade hair.

"One last thing," Dumbledore said tiredly. "But it does not require any work on your part. In order to assist Harry's case, I have taken the liberty of filing a complaint with the Ministry over your attack, Keena. Amanda is willing to attest to the fact that had the attack not occurred, you would not have delivered Aradia so soon nor so quickly. She only needs your consent in order to produce this as evidence of rogue dementors. Had the attack been singularly upon Harry I would be much less confident, but since your attack was much more obvious it should not be hard to do,"

"I don't understand how filing a complaint will help, to be honest, Dumbledore," I muttered, rubbing my eyes.

"It will help because I will be able to bring it up during the hearing if things begin to go in a negative direction," he answered easily, apparently growing more comfortable now that I had finally stopped looking at him in general. "And even if it does not, I believe you were going to file a complaint in any case,"

Sirius nodded. "Of course we were,"

Dumbledore nodded in return. "Any news from Remus, by the way?"

Lily shook her head. "Nothing, sir, but I'm hardly surprised; they usually lock people away when they're testing something new,"

"Very well, then," he said, seeming much more cheerful as he turned around, shut the door before locking it and putting up some silencing spells. "Now onto a happier topic; the horcruxes,"

I rolled my eyes. "Oh so happy," I mumbled sarcastically, gaining a smile from Lily while James snorted.

"Yes, well, Kailey has just confirmed that the locket found is a horcrux. Also, she has confirmed that Nagini is also an item to be destroyed and she will likely be one of the harder ones to get at," he said, but James snorted.

"You didn't get to find that cup hidden behind a jinx in the Lestrange vault," he said when we looked at him curiously.

"How did you even manage that?" I mumbled, shaking my head.

James shrugged. "Goblins don't care about the keys so much if you can prove your related,"

I frowned. "Who're you related to?"

He smirked at me. "_We_ are related to cousin Druella on mum's side,"

I looked at him, mildly concerned for his sanity. "Mum was an only child," I reminded him.

"Well, yeah, but her mum wasn't, and she had a sister who happened to be cousin Druella's mother," he said and Sirius made a hissing noise.

I turned to look at him, totally confused. "Aunt Druella is Andromeda, Bellatrix and Narcissa's mother,"

I raised an eyebrow at him before turning back to James. "Okay, fine, so you've got a very slight and small relation, but how did you get in without the goblins knowing it was you?"

"Oh, they didn't know who I was," he answered good-naturedly. "But I explained how I was related to cousin Druella and, as a result, to Bellatrix Lestrange and all they needed was a prick of my finger for some blood,"

"That doesn't sound terribly hard, actually, mate," Sirius confessed after a few moments of silence.

"It wasn't until the jinx in their vault went off; had to knock the goblin out before I could figure out how to undo the jinx long enough to get the cup out of there. And _then_ I had to figure out how to get myself out of the bank,"

Lily smirked. "Took him half an hour to remember he could apparate just outside of the vault,"

James flushed as we laughed at him. "Headmaster, did she say anything else?" James asked, trying to get us to stop.

Dumbledore sobered. "She confirmed our suspicions about the lost diadem," he said, nodding.

"Brilliant," Sirius answered. "So it isn't lost?"

Dumbledore shook his head. "She was not specific,"

"I'm sorry," Lily said, frowning. "Maybe I misunderstood, but I thought the whole point of this was to figure out where everything was faster so that my son and his friends can have a normal seventh year when the time comes,"

"Too many drastic changes with her assistance will not be good for us,"

"How so? Destroying these abominations can only be a good thing," I stated, confused when Dumbledore winced at my description.

"And what about the seventh one?" James asked, but Dumbledore pulled out a watch. "Headmaster?"

"I'm sorry, but I'm afraid my time here is over for the night. We shall continue this discussion at another time,"

Leaving no room for argument, Dumbledore strode over to the fireplace and left in a swirl of green flames. The four of us frowned, glancing at one another.

"What in Merlin's name was his problem?" Sirius' question went unanswered by the rest of us.

**There's the end of chapter five! If you want to see Molly and Lily's argument, I'll post it as a one-shot called "For Harry's Sake" (It would have made this chapter obnoxiously longer than usual). I may make references to it in the future as I have done with a few other of the one-shots that I've made for this series. Thanks so much for reading! Next will be chapter 6 (Sirius and Keena's half-wedding)!**

**:-D**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six: Here Comes the Bribe

**Disclaimed**

**Here we go! Enjoy!**

_Keena's Point of View: _

"I can't believe it," Sirius mumbled into his pillow.

Aradia had decided it was time for breakfast. At five thirty in the morning. Needless to say, she had been very vocal about the whole idea.

"Can't believe what? That she let us sleep in an extra five minutes from last night?" I suggested, cradling the now satisfied baby in my arms as I sat down beside Sirius on the bed.

"No," he grunted, rolling over so that he could stare at me. "I can't believe we're getting married today," he clarified, sitting up and giving me an annoyed expression.

I sighed, glancing down at Aradia as she played with a strand of my hair in her tiny fist. Her eyes were wide and she seemed to be fascinated.

"I know…what are we going to tell Alianna? You know she's going to ask why we're doing it this way and so suddenly, too."

"We're going to have to tell her the truth," he answered with a shrug. "And hope she won't think it's her fault that you don't get your dream wedding."

I rolled my eyes at him. "Who needs a dream wedding when I've already got two beautiful baby girls?" I asked, gazing down at Aradia again.

He snorted and I looked up to find him raising an eyebrow at me.

"Excuse me?"

"Of course, I also have the most handsome fiancé ever to be found," I laughed.

"That's right," he said, nodding before engulfing both Aradia and me in a bear hug.

Eventually we headed downstairs to the kitchen where Sirius took Aradia from my arms, making her giggle as he pulled faces, while I went to make some tea for Sirius and hot chocolate for myself. Molly entered the kitchen not long after I had started and chuckled at me. I frowned, giving her a look.

"What?" I asked, lifting the kettle just as it began to sing.

"Hot chocolate, Keena?" she answered, shaking her head.

"What else am I supposed to drink? I don't like tea and I don't like coffee. Besides, sugar wakes me up just as well as caffeine ever would except I've heard that caffeine is not good to drink while pregnant or nursing. Also, I love chocolate," I added with a guilty grin and a half shrug.

"Whatever you say dear," she replied as she began to embrace the element of cooking.

I got out of her way just as Arthur (who was holding the morning's _Daily Prophet_), James and Lily entered the kitchen.

"Ready for your big day little sister?" James asked, ruffling my hair as he sat down next to me and across from Sirius.

"Big day?" Arthur asked as he unfolded the paper in front of him.

"Getting married is Dumbledore's solution to our custody issue," Sirius answered, not looking up from Aradia as she grabbed at his face.

"Well that's not so horrible, then," Molly replied pleasantly as a yawning Fred and George entered the kitchen. Molly glanced at them warily, but apparently decided against asking what they were doing up so early.

"It isn't," I agreed. "And it wouldn't be nearly so annoying if we didn't have to do it today," I finished, closing my eyes and taking a swig of my hot chocolate.

I jumped as something slammed behind me. I turned around to find Molly staring at me in horror. I actually winced under her stare.

"Today? How in Merlin's name are we going to get anything done in time? There are no invitations, no dresses, no food, no cake…good heavens, Keena, today?" she cried, though I managed to suppress a smirk as she listed the food and cake as separate items.

"Not the whole wedding," Sirius intervened before she could really work herself up.

"How can you have half a wedding?" one bleary-eyed twin asked.

"Isn't that kind of the point?" the other added, pausing to yawn at the end.

"Not exactly," Arthur said from behind his newspaper. "There are two parts to a magical marriage. The first is just legal, a contract signing, which is what I assume you and Keena will be doing," he added with a glance at Sirius who nodded in reply. "The second, and probably more important to most couples, is the magical portion of it. That's the only reason for a ceremony to take place, when the vows join the families together magically."

"Does it still work like that when muggleborns marry purebloods?" I think it was George who asked as he exchanged a glance with his twin.

"Yeah," James answered. "I think the bond is probably a little weaker between the in-laws, but it's still there."

"So you're tied to Harry's…cousin?" Fred asked, thinking for a moment to find a suitable example.

"Exactly," James nodded.

But Lily gasped suddenly and we all turned to look at her in confusion. "That's it," she whispered and several of us exchanged looks.

"That's what?" Sirius asked, breaking out of our silent confusion.

"The answer to Keena's charges; she's magically bonded to Dudley which means she's bound to protect him," she explained excitedly.

I cocked to my head to the side, thinking it over for a moment before shuddering. "Please tell me I'm not in any way bound to Vernon Dursley," I begged when she looked at me questioningly.

She rolled her eyes at me, slapping James' arm when he laughed at the look on my face.

"The point is, they can't accuse you of doing any type of magic in front of him since you've got the responsibility to protect him," she concluded looking back at me once James had calmed down.

"Probably explains why purebloods don't want their children to marry muggleborns," Sirius said thoughtfully. "They wouldn't want to be bound to the muggles," he added when Fred and George looked at him curiously.

"Well, if we're to have half of a wedding today, I suppose I'll just contact half of the guests and whip up half of a desert spread," Molly concluded with a nod to herself.

* * *

_Kailey's Point of View: _

Alianna was beside herself with excitement that her parents were going to finally share last names, even if she did admit to being disappointed that there wouldn't be flowers or dresses. I gave her a weak smile as she bounced around the room from person to person, not really having the attention span necessary to clean just one thing at a time. Finally, one of the twins thought to suggest that she just go down to the kitchen to help Mrs. Weasley with the cake instead of help us to clean. I'll admit that I let out a huge sigh of relief when she finally skipped out the door, expressing even more excitement for baking the half-wedding cake.

"You don't suppose it'll only be half a cake…do you?" Ron asked once the door had closed behind the younger girl.

He yelped as both twins and Harry threw their cleaning rags at him.

Snickering, I turned back to the table I was scrubbing down (I was beginning to think it was just dust-colored). Hardly a moment later, though, I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned to see Harry standing in front of me, holding my gaze.

"Can I talk to you for a minute?" he asked, nodding his head towards the door.

I glanced at Hermione, who shrugged, before looking back at Harry and nodding. We exited the supposed dining room, heading towards the drawing room where the boggart still resided. Ignoring the rattling from the desk, I sat down on the hard, uncomfortable couch as Harry shut the door behind him.

"What's up?" I asked, rolling my neck. "Or did you just want a break?" I asked with a slight smirk.

He snorted and my smirk grew into a grin as he sat down next to me.

"No, I didn't need a break," he paused. "Well, not that I mind it. But I was just wondering what's wrong with you," he shrugged, giving me a puzzled expression.

I raised an eyebrow and shrugged. "Um…nothing?"

But he shook his head. "Honestly, Kailey, you've been a nervous wreck for a few days now and I…" he paused uncertainly as he looked me over. "I'm…worried about you."

I couldn't help but acknowledge the irony of that statement, at least mentally. True to my word to Dumbledore, I had no intentions of even touching that book again until Harry's hearing was over with. In truth, I was worried that more bad news would make me even worse and I didn't want Harry to misinterpret my nerves. _Well, it's a little late for that…_

"I'm fine, Harry, really," I answered with a small shake of my head.

But he just glared at me.

"You of all people should know better than to lie to me to my face," he stated, his voice trembling just a little. "I've talked to Hermione and she said that you're still having horrid nightmares and the only reason you don't scream loud enough to wake up the rest of the house is because Hermione hears it first."

I flinched slightly at his words, my mind drawing up my most recent nightmare; Harry's cold, broken corpse with lifeless green eyes under the control of Voldemort's wand as an inferi.

"I've been having nightmares all summer," I muttered defensively, trying to get the image out of my mind.

"Yeah, so have I, we used to actually talk to each other, remember?" His sarcasm was tangible, but it only made me more defensive.

"The house is too crowded; I don't want Ali to over hear them."

He rolled his eyes. "That's a load of dung, Kailey, and you know it," he snapped, making me glare.

"Well maybe I just don't want to talk about _these_ nightmares with _you_!"

He blinked at me and I froze as I realized that I had shouted. I blushed and looked away, studying the carpet patterns on the floor as I avoided his gaze.

"Did I…_do_ something?" he asked quietly and I bit my lip.

"Of course not," I whispered, though I couldn't bring myself to look at him. "It's just…I look at you and I see you with your parents and I…" but I trailed off, unable to think of the right words to say to him. He could be so happy with his parents and knowing that he might not live long enough to enjoy them...it tore at me.

"Kailey, look at me," he commanded and I found myself unable to refuse. His eyes were narrowed in confusion. "Are you jealous of me?"

"You honestly don't know what's had Keena, Lily and Mrs. Weasley on edge these past few days, do you?" I asked slowly.

He blinked before nodding. "Yeah…I was there when we overheard Mrs. Weasley and Sirius, remember?"

"Yeah, but you didn't understand it," I stated. "Harry, they fought over who has been the best mother to you so far."

"But all we heard Sirius say was to lay off Keena—"

"Because she's worried about being a good mother to her own daughters enough as it is. And it wasn't Keena and Mrs. Weasley who had that argument; it was your mum and Mrs. Weasley. Obviously that's what they were fighting over," I finished giving him a look. "Harry, I'm jealous that you have not one, but three mothers when mine rejected me. And aside from that, I can't stand watching you while you reject both of your parents while Alianna celebrates getting new ones." I paused to sigh for a moment before gazing up at him again. "I have all of these nightmares and you're the only person I ever talk to about them because you're the only one that's been constantly there for me from the start…but you only talk to me when you have all of these other people surrounding you…" I said, lifting my hand to gesture at the door before dropping it back into my lap.

I glanced at him to see that he was biting his lip.

"Say something?" I whispered, hoping I hadn't made him too angry.

He sighed, shaking his head at me. "Don't you ever wonder _why_ I only ever talk to you about this stuff?"

I shrugged, tugging my ponytail over my shoulder. "I thought it was because I usually already know about whatever nightmare it is you're having," I answered looking up from the blue streak in my hair to see him shaking his head again.

"Kailey, I only ever come to you because I—"

"Oi!"

We both jumped and looked at the door where we could now hear some muffled grumbling. I raised an eyebrow and exchanged a look with Harry before standing and heading over to the door. I opened it to see Fred and George sitting on the floor, each of them rubbing their heads and glaring at one another. Behind them stood Ginny, who looked very pleased with herself as she rubbed her hands together.

She looked up at me and smiled. "I thought you two deserved your privacy."

"Dragon dung," George grumbled.

"You were listening right alongside us," Fred added.

"Up until it was about to get good," George lamented.

"If the two of you want,"

"Feel free,"

"Just go ahead,"

"And pick up where you left off," the finished together.

I narrowed my eyes at them before turning to see that Harry was now standing next to me, looking frustrated and, for some strange reason, embarrassed.

"C'mon, they want to try and use the dining room for the contract signing," he grumbled, pushing his way past the twins and Ginny. She looked affronted when he didn't even acknowledge her and she cast a nasty look in my direction before she followed him.

The day seemed to fly by after that as Harry busily avoided eye contact with me. As a result, he was silent and brooding when we gathered in the dining room for the official signing.

There was truly nothing fancy about it, but Mrs. Weasley wanted Keena to have at least some semblance of a regular wedding so we had all changed into fresh robes. Lily stood beside Keena where the matron of honor would have been while James did the same for Sirius on his other side. Tonks had stopped by Diagon Alley before coming over to the house and picked up a small bouquet of flowers for Alianna to hold (she had requested to be the flower girl). Remus, who had just been released from the potion trial, had picked up the marriage contract from the Ministry. Luckily rings were not a part of traditional wizarding weddings so none were required for this part of the wedding.

The room was crowded with the Weasleys, Potters, Dales, Boots, Bells, Remus and Tonks as well as Hermione and me. My dad, McGonagall and Hagrid had also shown up. Somehow, probably magic, we all managed to fit at the table. Dumbledore either had more important things to do or had not been invited.

Sirius gave Keena a long look as he picked up the quill, as though he were trying to figure out if this is what she really wanted to do. She gave him a small half smile and a slight nod. With a small return smile, he signed the contract before passing it to her. She signed quickly and there was a puff of silvery light before the parchment settled.

We all clapped before heading down to the kitchen, which was still the only room the adults deemed clean enough to eat in, for the large cake. Several people chuckled as Ron expressed his relief that it was a whole cake, not just half.

* * *

_Keena's Point of View: _

"So how does it feel to be Mrs. Black?" James asked after exchanging a wicked grin with Damien when I choked a little on my piece of cake.

Everyone was chatting happily with whoever they were sitting with. Even Ginny seemed to be in a better mood than usual as she talked to DJ about something. Harry and the other boys were all debating over Quidditch while Alianna and the younger girls fawned over the baby.

"She's not Mrs. Black," Sirius said before I could answer. "She's _Professor_ Black. Or are we hyphenating it?" he asked, wrapping his arm around my shoulders.

"You only want to hyphenate to annoy your mother's portrait," Nickie accused with a grin.

"All the more reason to do it," Orion inserted excitedly.

"No, I'm not hyphenating," I answered Sirius with a shake of my head. "Besides, this'll make it that much more fun when they ask me to state my name at the hearing tomorrow; they'll be knocked down a peg."

"Excuse me, Auntie Keena," Lizzie interrupted with a slightly shy expression on her face.

"Yes, sweetie?" I answered, cutting off Lexi's stern look.

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure," I replied with a nod and a slight smile.

She glanced at Sirius before leaning closer and whispering in my ear. "Do we get to call him Uncle Sirius instead of Auror Black now?"

I grinned at her and nodded.

"So does that mean Ali and I are kind of cousins?" she continued in a normal voice. I nodded again with a half shrug. She grinned and went back to Alianna, supposedly relaying my answer to her since both girls squealed and hugged excitedly.

"They must have bonded in the past hour," Lexi said with a grin. "I wish we hadn't cared so much about houses when we went to school," she added a little somberly.

It wasn't much longer until those who didn't live at Grimmauld Place left. The girls helped Molly and Lily with the dishes as I fed Aradia. The boys had all migrated to the other end of the table as soon as they had noticed the modesty blanket that I had had Alianna retrieve from the bedroom.

"Alright, you lot, time for bed I think," Molly stated as Kailey put away the last of the cutlery.

"Oh, Harry, Kailey, the two of you need to wash up as well; you need to look your best for the hearing," Lily said as the kids began making their way to the door. "And thank Mrs. Weasley for ironing your clothes for tomorrow," she added.

They both thanked her before Harry turned to face Sirius. "What time are we leaving?"

"It's not set to start until ten, right?" Sirius checked. I began nodding, but Kailey shook her head. "No?" he asked, noticing her movements.

"They're going to change the time to eight in the morning and the location is going to be in courtroom…ten?" she paused for a moment, wracking her brain. "Ten I think. I'll check, but I'm pretty sure that's it."

"Why would they change to that courtroom?" Arthur muttered.

She shrugged, though if anybody else noticed the lie, no one commented on it.

Aradia woke us up several times over the course of the night. Or at least, she woke me up. When I moved to sit up at five in the morning it was to see that Sirius was already holding and comforting our daughter as he swayed back and forth.

"You can go back to sleep, I'll watch her," he whispered as her crying abated.

"She's not hungry?" I murmured, rubbing the sleep from my eyes.

"No, she feels wet," he answered and I nodded slowly.

"How long have you been awake?"

"A while," he answered shortly.

"Change her and come back to bed, love," I requested, yawning at the end. "We've still got another hour and a half before we leave," I added.

But he shook his head. "You go on and sleep, I'll take her with me downstairs."

I nodded tiredly. The alarm beside my bed went off an hour later and soon after that Arthur was leading Harry, Kailey, Sirius and me through the muggle part of London. Harry and Kailey worked very hard to not laugh as Arthur expressed his delight in every little machine. We all tried not to laugh at Sirius who got himself stuck as he tried to go through an out of order…something. It was some kind of barrier, but honestly if someone really wanted to get through they could just climb over the contraption. Harry only smiled and shrugged when I voiced my opinion which made me feel a little like an ignorant pureblood.

Thankfully we made it to the phone booth in one piece at about seven forty-five, which would give us just enough time to run through security. Arthur went first with Kailey followed by Harry and me.

"Welcome to the Ministry of Magic. Please state your name and business," the annoyingly calm feminine voice came over the phone.

"Harry Potter here for a disciplinary hearing and Keena Black, his guardian, escort, witness and," I took a breath, glancing at Harry and winking. "Dementor attack victim," I finished.

Two pins slid into the change slot, one reading _Harry Potter – Disciplinary Hearing_ the other reading _Keena Black – Guardian, Escort, Witness and Victim_ though the print on mine was much smaller.

Once we were all inside, Arthur led us to the Security desk to have our wands checked. The wizard measured mine and quirked an eyebrow at me.

"Only been in use for one year and a month?"

"Exactly right," I replied with an overly sweet smile. He gulped and handed me my wand back without any more questions.

The five of us headed for the lifts and Arthur left us with words of encouragement and luck for Harry at the DMLE level. We continued down to the Department of Mysteries. With five minutes to spare, we headed down the corridor to the old courtroom I had seen far more times than I would have liked to admit. Each time was to appeal for Sirius in some manner or another. We stopped outside the doors and I turned to face them both.

"Now when you're in there, Harry, just tell the whole truth. They will probably try and interrupt you if you say something that they think will help them. The only thing you did was magic outside of school; there were no muggles involved so they cannot accuse you of breaking the Statute of Secrecy. It might be good for us if they do because it means they've got their information crossed," I explained quietly, one hand resting on the door knob. "Any questions?"

"What if I am expelled?" he asked, glancing at Kailey and then Sirius and me.

"Then they have at least one hormonal and three angry mothers coming for them," I answered lightly. "You won't be expelled."

He gulped and nodded and I opened the door to let us all inside. I wish I could say that I was surprised to see the Wizengamot present, but knowing Fudge I had almost expected it.

The chatting in the stands came to a crashing halt and Fudge looked startled to see us come in on time as he checked his pocket watch grumpily.

"You received the owl, then?" he asked tartly.

"No, Minister," I answered. "We just thought we'd show the kids where I spent my time testifying for Sirius' innocence." I added on a wicked impulse. There was some uncomfortable shifting in the stands.

Fudge gave a slight cough in order to regain attention. "Yes, well, the hearing is for Mr. Potter only," he said, giving Kailey a nasty stare. "Unless she pertains to the case?"

"She witnessed the attack," Sirius stated.

Fudge rolled his eyes. "Right, attack, well she may sit next to the scribe here for a moment until we are ready for her." He gestured to an open space next to Percy, who had the gall to give Kailey a look as she walked over to sit next to him. "Take a seat," he called to the three of us.

We did so calmly, Harry taking the seat between Sirius and I as we stared up at the esteemed witches and wizards in their purple robes.

"For the Disciplinary Hearing on this, the twelfth of August, defendant Harry James Potter is accused of performing magic against the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery while trespassing on private grounds."

My teeth clenched and I glared at Fudge as he accused Harry of trespassing on his own land. This was utterly ridiculous.

"Interrogators are as follows: Cornelius Oswald Fudge, Minister of Magic; Amelia Susan Bones, Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement; Dolores Jane Umbridge, Senior Undersecretary to the Minister. Court Scribe: Percy Ignatius Weasley. Please state your names and order of business," he concluded the lengthy list.

I glanced at Sirius as he cleared his throat. "Sirius Orion Black, appointed guardian of the accused and character witness for the defense," he turned to me with a half-smirk as I looked up to announce my new name.

"Keena Potter Black, appointed guardian of the accused, witness for the defense and fellow victim of the duel dementor attack," I contained my grin as the whispers started at the name change but exploded into shock as I named myself a victim.

Fudge barely got the court settled before he looked down at Kailey with a grim expression. "And you?"

"Kailey Audrina Snape, witness for the defense and fellow victim of the dementor attack," she said, glancing at me to see that she had said the right words.

Before the court could work itself up again, though, the doors swung open and Dumbledore swept inside, coming to stand on Sirius' other side. "And Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, appointed guardian of Kailey Snape and character witness for the defense," there was no holding the courtroom back as they all muttered and shifted in uncontrollable discomfort at the headmaster's appearance.

I could see Fudge gulping from where I sat and it made me slightly grateful to Dumbledore for arriving.

It took another moment of Fudge stuttering before everything was settled again.

"You are Harry James Potter, correct?" he began, his irritation making him short and snappy.

"Yes," Harry replied, though I'm sure he would have been more nervous if he hadn't spotted Kailey rolling her eyes in the front row.

"And you did perform magic?"

"Yes, but—"

"And you have received notices from the Ministry twice before?"

"I have, but—"

"And you've also been found on private property while performing this magic?"

"It is, but it's also—"

"Wizards and witches, he has just admitted to all of—"

"The private property charge has no standing," I interrupted loudly, cutting Fudge off.

He frowned at me.

"The Mansion is private property, but it belongs to Harry."

"I find it hard to believe that a fourteen year old boy could own a mansion, Mrs.…_Black_."

"Professor," I corrected easily. "And it belongs to Harry because he is the last male heir to the Potter line. Unless you're suggesting the goblins made a mistake in James Nathaniel Potter's last will and testament?"

Fudge opened and closed his mouth several times before Madame Bones stepped in.

"You were staying at Potter Mansion?" she asked with a slight frown.

"Did you even look into where you sent those owls?" I asked, unable to stop myself. "Or where the magic came from? Who reported it in any case?"

"Hem hem," a squat witch next to Fudge leaned forward. "I'm sorry Professor, but are you suggesting the Ministry has been misinformed?"

Her voice made my spine tingle. "My nephew was just accused of trespassing onto property that is still legally his. Does that answer your question?" I replied.

"Very well, those charges shall be dropped," Madame Bones interceded. "However, there is still the fact that he performed magic."

"But I only did it because of the dementor," Harry spoke up, sounding annoyed.

"Dementors, eh?" Fudge chortled. "I thought we'd see something like this," he added shaking his head.

The wizards and witches behind him began murmuring again, though this time they sounded less sure of themselves.

"Yes, it broke through the wards and attacked Kailey and me," Harry continued. "The house elves tried to hold it off but they—"

"Oh and house elves too! Of course, when you could just order them to tell the story any way you see fit," Fudge looked quite pleased with himself.

"I witnessed it all," Kailey offered from her seat. "If you want, have a look at my memories."

"Would you submit to Veritaserum instead?" Fudge asked.

"She would not," Dumbledore said from his seat next to Sirius. "There is currently no head of the Wizengamot and no others are permitted by law to witness the proceedings of such a delicate interview."

"That is true," Bones agreed with a nod to Dumbledore. "But with volunteered memories, the Head of the DMLE is allowed to over look them. It shouldn't take long, Cornelius," she added at the impatient huff that Fudge produced.

"Fine then, Madame Bones would you escort Ms. Snape and Professor Dumbledore to the Ministry's pensieve?"

She gave him a firm nod and stepped down from her station as Kailey and Dumbledore moved to join her. They exited the room quietly, but swiftly.

"Is there any other evidence that you wish to submit?" Fudge asked as the doors thudded shut.

"There is more proof of a second dementor attack that took place simultaneously," Sirius stated with a nod. "This one happened against a muggle, my daughter and my wife, who was pregnant at the time with my other daughter."

"So this is that bit of foolishness that your complaint is about then is it?"

"It is not foolishness, Minister," I replied hotly. "Because of this attack I went into labor a good four weeks early; had anything happened to my ten-day-old baby girl I would be suing you and your office for everything that it is worth!"

"Dementors are not smart enough to go and seek out specific people without orders," Sirius added before I could continue my rant. "You go ahead and tell me that they attacked the last two living members of the Potter family in two separate locations coincidentally."

"There is still the fact that she performed magic in front of a muggle," Fudge called out, trying to drown out the mutterings of the courtroom. The witches and wizards were obviously growing uncomfortable.

"A muggle who, through the marriage of my brother James Nathaniel Potter, I am bound to protect," I answered. "Dudley Dursley is the nephew of Lily Evans Potter and because Harry used to live with the Dursleys, they already all know about magic."

"But that does not answer the question as to why there were dementors in a muggle area in the first place."

"No, Minister, it doesn't. I would like you to explain exactly why someone in the Ministry would send dementors after me and my family!" I snapped.

"Are you suggesting, my dear, that the Ministry does not have complete control over the Azkaban guards?" Umbridge simpered, giggling at the end.

"Either that or Voldemort is back," Sirius answered for me as I glared at the toad-like creature in front of me.

Shudders erupted throughout the room and there was no way for Fudge to call for silence this time.

* * *

_Kailey's Point of View: _

I took a deep, calming breath as the three of us landed back in the small office that Madame Bones had led us to. I was just thankful that I couldn't feel the effects of the dementor through the pensieve.

"Good lord, Dumbledore," Bones said, shaking her head. "How could this have happened?" she continued, gesturing to me for a moment.

"There are two possibilities, Amelia," Dumbledore replied calmly. "Either someone outside the Ministry has control over the dementors or someone inside of it has taken it upon themselves to destroy the remnants of the Potter line."

"So Professor Black was attacked as well? And I thought I had heard she was pregnant," she trailed off suggestively as she began to lead us back to the courtroom. "The woman looks as thin and fit as ever."

"She gave birth ten days ago and very nearly lost the baby in the process. Her healer is willing to submit evidence to the fact," he added but Bones shook her head.

"Not necessary, not after what I've just seen," she said pausing at the door. "You can be sure I'll have someone looking into this, even if I have to do it myself."

Beyond it we could hear the rumblings of a courtroom in near chaos. Bones frowned and pushed the door open. The Wizengamot seemed to be in a state very close to panic as Fudge tried to get them to calm down. Sirius looked slightly amused and Harry looked a little confused. Keena was just glaring at Fudge, which helped to explain why he seemed to be stuttering.

Bones slammed the door shut behind her with such a force that it shocked the room into silence. She returned to her seat, gesturing for me to return to my position near Percy as Dumbledore went over to the other three, where he bent down and whispered quietly with Sirius.

"The results, Madame Bones?" Fudge requested, sounding confident again. I rolled my eyes, though I managed to contain the smile that was threatening to explode across my face.

"Harry Potter and Kailey Snape were indeed attacked by a vicious dementor. I have reason to believe that Professor Black was also attacked," she stated loud enough for the courtroom to hear. "It was a very impressive patronus, Mr. Potter," she added with a nod to Harry.

He glanced at Sirius who nodded. "Thank you, Madame Bones."

She inclined her head towards Harry before turning back to Fudge. "And since we have already established that there was no trespassing we can now I believe come to the conclusion that since there were in dead exceptional circumstances, Mr. Potter should indeed be cleared of all charges."

Umbridge sat up straight at that. "Madame Bones, I'm afraid I don't quite understand how that conclusion may be brought about without a proper vote of the Wizengamot," she stated, sounding as though she were straining to keep her voice at its whispery-girly tone.

"Quite right, Dolores, quite right," Fudge agreed quickly.

Bones raised an eyebrow but sighed. "As you wish, Minister," she said with a slight incline of her head. "Those in favor of clearing Mr. Potter of all charges?"

I turned around to look and see who had raised their hand. I spotted the kindly old witch and the grumpy old wizard from Buckbeak's case. She winked at me as they both put their hands in the air along with the majority of the Wizengamot.

"Those against?" she continued, scanning the crowd as precious few raised their hands. "Very well then, cleared of all charges," she said with a satisfied nod.

I grinned as I stood and rushed over to the others, tackling Harry in an excited hug. "See? I told you, nothing to worry about," I grinned, releasing him from my hold.

* * *

_Keena's Point of View: _

Dumbledore practically raced out of the courtroom as Kailey and Harry began talking about the case. I exchanged a look with Sirius, who shrugged, before we began to lead the kids from the room. We took our time leaving, allowing the courtroom to empty before we headed out. As we neared the elevator, Kailey and Harry both stopped talking at once, each staring at the blonde-haired figure who was speaking to the Minister.

"Black and Potter," he greeted with a sneer. "I was hoping to run into the two of you before you left today."

"Funny, I was hoping to avoid you," Sirius replied coolly.

"What do you want, Malfoy?" I asked, stepping in front of Harry and Kailey. She seemed far more nervous than usual and he picked up on it as he took one of her hands in his.

"The Minister was just informing me of your happy news, Potter. Another little girl, how sweet," he answered.

I managed to control my anger at the Death Eater, keeping my hand carefully away from my wand. It wouldn't do to start a duel so close to the Department of Mysteries.

"But I was just expressing my concern that four children are quite a lot to handle at once, especially with two of them being rather famous. Perhaps an exchange of money and I could take one girl off of your hands. My Draco would adore a younger sister."

I grabbed Sirius' hand to keep myself from lunging at the horrible piece of garbage in front of me, my glare intensifying to the point that the Minister flinched and glanced at Malfoy as though he were insane.

"You stay away from my girls," I growled.

His sneer returned at full force. "Can you afford a custody battle, Black?"

"You have no rights to her and neither does anyone else," Sirius stated coldly. "She belongs to me and my wife."

"Wife?" Malfoy replied, sounding surprised and annoyed.

"Didn't Minister Fudge tell you that part yet? We've married and Alianna was adopted magically. She's mine," I finished with a smirk as his face paled further. "I hope you didn't make any promises to..._Narcissa_ because no bribe will take my daughters away from me."

He produced a sneer, clearly understanding that I was not referring to his wife.

Fudge cleared his throat. "Come, Lucius, we have business to discuss."

The two walked away and I glanced at the other two behind me. "Alright?"

They both nodded.

"Good, c'mon, everyone will want to know how it turned out," Sirius stated.

I didn't breathe easier until we returned to the house and I was able to take both my girls in my arms, laughing with everyone else as the twins sang their ridiculous song.

**That's the end of chapter six! Next will be 7! Shameless plug, here, but I do tend to update faster if I get a review or two! Any confusion? Just let me know and I'll do my best to right the wrong! Until next time!**

**:-D**


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven: "All was well."

**Disclaimed**

**Here is lucky number seven! Enjoy it!**

_Kailey's Point of View: _

The next day I holed myself up in the room, telling everyone I was exhausted from having to relive the moments with the dementor at Potter Mansion. If anyone noticed the bluff, no one called me on it. I weighed the book in my hands for a moment, regretting the fact that I had not bothered to get any of the finer details before looking for the horcruxes. I took a deep breath.

_There's no way it just ends that way…besides, I'm here and I'm not supposed to be and so is Keena…and Ali and Aradia…and even James and Lily…_

With those comforting thoughts, I blew out my breath and opened the book.

Hedwig was the first casualty to make my list and I was disturbed by how quickly Mad-Eye followed her. I forced myself to go numb as I read more names and casualties. It seemed as though there were hundreds. By the time I reached Fred's tragic death, I was ready to vomit.

I jumped at the thumping on my door.

"J—just a second!" I called, trying to clear the tightness in my throat. I had run out of tears many chapters earlier.

I yanked the door open and stared up at the twin in front of me and suddenly I realized that I had not yet run out of tears. He blinked at me in shock as my face crumpled at the sight of him.

"Blimey, Kailey, what's wrong?" he asked, giving me a hug.

"N-nightmare," I mumbled, letting go of him to rub at my eyes furiously. "W-what is it?"

"Mum and the rest say it's time to come down for a while…are you doing something with the future?" he asked apprehensively, looking past me as though expecting to see a shrine or something.

I shook my head furiously only to look up and see that he was giving me a look that clearly stated he knew I was lying.

"Is that how you find out about it all? You dream it up?" he pressed, probably noticing the rumpled bed sheets. I tended to grip them tightly whenever I grew nervous.

I sighed, shaking my head.

"No, I don't dream it up," I answered quietly. "Look, I'm nearly to the end and I just want to get it over with—I've been at it all day."

"This year's going to be bad then…isn't it?" he asked in a much gentler manner than I was used to seeing in either of their faces.

I gave a short, hollow laugh at that, wiping away a stray tear.

"Well, yeah, but that isn't what I'm finding out about at the moment; I'm dealing with two years from now…well, almost three I guess," I replied with a half-shrug.

"Seventh year for lot then, isn't it?" he asked after a moment of quick mental math before he broke into a mischievous grin. "Don't worry, Kailey, by then George and I will have gotten our shop up and running and NEWTS will never be so terrifying again."

I sniffed once more before glancing back behind me to the book on the bed.

"C'mon, Kailey, it's nearly seven. Just let it go and enjoy the now; they call it the present for a reason," Fred said, becoming serious once more.

* * *

_Keena's Point of View: _

Two days after the hearing McGonagall stopped by headquarters in one of the worst moods I had ever seen her in. She stormed into the kitchen where James, Arthur, Sirius and Bill were in heavy discussion about whether or not James should request guard duty at one end of the table while Lily, Remus and me were quietly talking about the affects of Lily's potion.

The door snapped shut behind her and I glanced up as she marched over to one of the cabinets, yanking it open and looking through it for a moment. When she shut the door to it she had a bottle of something brown in her hand. She suddenly looked over at the rest of us, seeming to just notice our presence.

"Something got your knickers in a twist, Mickey?" Sirius asked giving her a lopsided grin.

She glared at him and his grin slid off of his face while the rest of the Marauders sniggered at him. Until she unleashed her glare on the rest of us, that is.

"Professor, what's wrong?" Lily asked as McGonagall came to sit beside her.

"The Ministry has gone and pushed itself into Hogwarts business once more," she grumbled, uncorking the drink before transfiguring a napkin on the table into a goblet. "Since Alastor has refused to try his hand at teaching a second time the Minister has set in place Dolores Umbridge as the Ministry approved Defense Against the Dark Arts professional, never mind that the woman practically failed her DADA exams in school," she trailed off, taking an enormous gulp of the drink.

"Well, that's why I'm there, isn't it? The reason I was hired in the first place was Lockhart's inadequacy. It'll be just like it was three years ago," I shrugged, not really seeing the academic problem.

"I suppose, but you know very well that she won't let you do everything that needs to be done," McGonagall replied with a heavy sigh. "Severus made a strange suggestion at the staff meeting that Albus held to inform the teaching staff of this change," she added giving me a strange look. "Something about only having head's of houses holding detentions for their students. It seemed rather odd."

I shrugged, glancing at Sirius.

"We're technically on parental leave," he said to McGonagall, shaking his head. "Dumbledore hasn't said a word to us about anything going on at Hogwarts."

"Ah yes, and how is she? It's been nearly a week since I've seen the little darling last," she said, craning her neck to have a look at where Aradia was currently napping.

"She slept for a solid four hours the other night; it was bliss," I said with a grin. "And she doesn't shriek every time someone makes a bang anymore, thank Merlin, and Dumbledore's said that my office has added a crib to itself so that answers the question about where I can leave her during my working hours."

"And you're going to take one of the younger house elves, too," James informed me from next to Arthur. "An elflet named Sparky said she would love to spend time with her littlest mistress."

"An elflet?" I asked, trying to hide my doubtfulness.

"Yeah, she's Skippy's oldest, so she's more like a teenage elflet than one of the really small ones. Binks was mortified when she asked outright if she could," he added, sniggering a little. "Said something about Bambly teaching them all better manners than that while at Hogwarts."

"I imagine he would have," I agreed with a slight chuckle. "Well I suppose that takes care of the problem then."

I stood as Aradia gave a tiny wail which I had come to identify as her 'pick-me-up-_now'_ cry. I held her close as McGonagall pulled out her watch and sighed.

"I suppose I had better head back to the school then," she grumbled, heading to the door and shutting it once more behind her.

"Umbridge was the one who looked like a toad at the hearing, right?" Sirius asked for clarification once McGonagall was gone.

Arthur chuckled. "I've often thought of her that way myself. Nasty woman," he added with a shake of his head.

"She's tried to pass some of the more heinous werewolf laws in the last few years as well," Remus said with an expression that could light a fire.

I sighed unhappily, gazing down at my daughter.

"That pretty much sums up my feelings as well," Lily agreed. "You're going to have to keep an eye on those two; a Ministry witch won't believe that Voldemort has returned."

"Oh trust me, Lily, if she doesn't watch her step she really will end up looking like a toad. Fred and George will likely see to it themselves; they're both very protective of Kailey from what I've gathered," Arthur said sagely.

"The problem is you're right, Arthur; they will do something to Umbridge if she isn't careful. But trust the Ministry to take things to extremes," Sirius argued, shaking his head. "If they aren't careful they'll find themselves with snapped wands."

"To tell you the truth, I think they'd quit school first," Bill replied with a slight grin. "Course, Mum would have a fit."

"Maybe, but in the end if it became between their education and their wands…well, I think I could sway your mother quite easily."

"Oh you think so, do you?"

We all turned to see Molly had come down to the kitchen to make lunch. Her hands were placed on her hips. Her expression was set in challenge and our heads swiveled back to Arthur in time to see him gulp.

* * *

_Kailey's Point of View: _

_I looked around, unable to see anything, my heart pounding painfully in my chest. Suddenly I could hear high cruel laughter and shouting, screaming. Without warning a harsh green light lit up all around me. I strained against the coarse ropes that bound me and I was able to twist around far enough to read the name upon the large tombstone. But this wasn't the graveyard…_

_I jumped as a twig snapped and the laughing stopped. Slowly, I turned to see Harry standing in front of me. His face was covered in dirt and grime and blood as he stared at me with an angry, but horrified expression as he rushed forward, unbinding me. He looked older, I realized dimly. Haunted…_

"_How could you keep this from me?" he hissed as he removed the gag I hadn't even realized was in my mouth. "Did you think I wouldn't do it if you told me?" _

_Before I could answer the laughter started again, coming from somewhere beyond the clearing in the dense trees. _

_He stood in front of me protectively, shoving his wand into my hands. _

"_No," I whispered, trying to give it back but he wouldn't take it. _

"_Come to die, Potter?" _

_Suddenly, Harry slumped backwards, crashing into my arms as I caught him and sank to the ground. His eyes were open wide, glassy…colorless. All I could do was scream…_

"KAILEY!"

I jerked awake, dropping the book I had held protectively against my chest, jumping when it crashed to the ground. I looked up into Harry's wide, green eyes as I registered his hands were on my shoulders.

I didn't even pause to think as I closed the distance between us, crushing myself against his chest as I sobbed. I ignored the muttering I could hear from behind him, though I could hear Aradia's cries cut off when someone thought to shut the door. All that mattered was that it hadn't been real; it had only been a nightmare. Unconsciously I gave Harry an extra squeeze to make certain he was really there. I felt calmer as his arms tightened around me briefly and my sobs quieted as my heart returned to its normal rate.

"Merlin, Kailey, what did you read?" he whispered as he rubbed my back soothingly.

I didn't answer, letting my mind reach back to where I had left off before sleep had claimed me. I had tried to sleep last night but it felt as though every two moments I would jerk awake from another nightmare. Mrs. Weasley had come in to wake us up, but after one look at my face she told me to try and get at least an hour's rest. It hadn't worked in the first half-hour so I picked up from Fred's death and managed to get through my father's before I had to pause for a while. Snape's death didn't shock me, but it was still nearly impossible to imagine. When I continued, it was with heavy, sleepy eyes. The last thing I had read was Harry discovering how to use the Resurrection Stone as he entered the Forbidden Forest before my eyes had slid shut.

I realized Harry was trying to move away, but I shook my head violently, pulling him closer. Despite the situation, I could feel his chest moving as he managed to hold in his laughter.

"Kailey, c'mon, I'm not going anywhere," he said quietly.

_Not yet…but too soon…_

I sighed as I let him go, wiping at my eyes furiously as I tried to reign in my tears.

I looked beyond him to see Remus and Lily standing nearby. They halted their whispered conversation as they caught my gaze. Lily came forward as Harry helped me to my feet and she embraced me in a tight hug.

"You gave us all such a fright," she whispered before letting go. "Do you want to-?"

"No," I answered cutting her off. She looked hurt and I gave her a pleading look. "Please, Lily, you know why I can't."

"You need to talk to someone, Kailey," Remus said from the doorway. "Anyone will do, just don't keep yourself stretched so thin."

"I'm not one of the ones who gets closer to dying every day…" I mumbled, shaking my head, trying to forget that he and Tonks would lie alone but together in the Great Hall someday unless I did something to stop it. "I can't put this pressure on anyone else."

"Damn it, Remus, you see?" Lily ground out, whirling to face the unsurprised werewolf. She turned back to face me. "You are fifteen, Kailey, this pressure never should have been placed on you in the first place."

"I agreed to it with—"

"YOU WERE ELEVEN!" she shouted before noticing the look on my face. She took a deep breath and glanced at Harry. "No more of this. I want that book, not to read it," she said when I began to protest. "I know that I wouldn't be able to handle it, but you can't either. Let me deal with Dumbledore."

"But I'm not finished with it!" I cried, turning to grab it to find that Harry was already holding it, moving to hand it to his mother. "You can't just let me think it's all going to end this way!"

"End what way?" she asked, narrowing her eyes at me as she accepted the book from her son.

_Her dying son…_

"P-please," I shuddered. "At least let me see the end; I c-can't not know, Lily, I can't."

She sighed and opened the book from the end, holding out the last two pages to me.

I sighed in relief as I laid my eyes on the final three words. It didn't matter that I didn't know how it all happened, at least not for right now. All that mattered was that if Harry was alive nineteen years after his scar stopped hurting then Voldemort would die.

I let Lily close the book and take it away. She didn't say anything as she shut it but I caught Remus and Harry studying the expression on my face.

"Will you be alright now?" Harry asked slowly.

"I'll be better, I think," I replied, blushing as he continued to try and read my face. "Where is everyone else, anyway?" I asked in an attempt to get the attention off of myself as I wiped residue tears off of my face.

"We were getting ready to eat lunch," Remus answered, seeming to understand the change of topic immediately.

I nodded and looked back at Harry.

"C'mon, I know you; you're probably starving," I said, rolling my eyes.

He smiled uneasily at me as he followed me out the door, glancing back at his mother and Remus who had fallen back into discussion once more.

No one said anything as I followed Harry into the kitchen, though everyone did glance at me at least once. Except for Alianna. She looked straight at Harry first. I watched with guarded eyes as her gray-blue ones glazed over for a moment before she blinked rapidly.

"Harry, sit next to me," she requested quietly, making space between her and Ron, who was sitting across from Hermione.

He glanced at me, but went to sit next to his younger cousin as I moved to sit across from him and between Hermione and a twin, who I thought was George. Both of them glanced at me as though I were a ticking bomb before George looked away to continue listening in as Sirius and James told a story from their years at Hogwarts. Hermione, on the other hand, gently nudged my side.

I looked at her with a small smile, trying to get her to drop it.

"Tell me later?" she requested with a defeated sigh when she accepted my pitiful smile.

"Thanks, 'Mione," I sighed in obvious relief.

A few days later I was in the kitchen with Hermione and Ginny, waiting for Mrs. Weasley to get breakfast on the table. A tired looking Keena entered the kitchen, carrying Aradia, who was wide-awake and making happy gurgling noises. She sat down heavily on the bench beside Ginny and Mrs. Weasley chuckled.

"Another late night?" she asked, levitating a large plate full of pancakes over to the table before turning back to the counter and searching the cabinets for something.

"No, another early morning," Keena answered, yawning at the tail end. "What are you looking for, Molly?"

"Well, if you drank caffeine, I'd give you some of this tea I've made," she replied, straightening up with a square packet in her hand. "As it is, you insist that a sugar rush is best for you."

Keena laughed lightly at that, the movement making Aradia give a shriek of delight.

"Where's Sirius?" Hermione asked curiously, glancing towards the kitchen door as if he would appear simply due to the mention of his name.

"It's his morning to sleep," Keena answered, sounding a little put out to be honest.

Alianna came into the kitchen then, shuffling sleepily over to her mother and giving her a half-asleep hug before she mumbled hello to Aradia as she sat down.

"Ali, I told you to try and sleep some more," Ginny scolded, sounding strikingly similar to Mrs. Weasley.

The younger girl just shrugged, stealing a sip from her mother's hot chocolate.

"Who wants to sleep the day before their birthday?" she asked groggily, yawning at the end.

"Someone who was bouncing off the walls in the middle of the night because they've had some exciting visions that they won't explain," Ginny replied with a smirk as Alianna blushed.

"Exciting visions?" I asked, smirking along with Ginny. "What kind of exciting visions?"

"Er—good grades!"

We all stared at her in disbelief and she blushed again.

"Okay, fine," she grumbled. "I saw your wedding, mum," she reported, beaming.

Keena smiled tiredly back. "That's already happened, love."

"No, no, no, the real wedding! You know, the magical one that actually matters to you and dad!" she explained exasperatedly.

"No way," Ginny disagreed, shaking her head. "You were not chanting 'I _knew_ he liked her' about your parents."

"Oh, that part," Alianna said, rolling her eyes. "That was when Remus asked Tonks to marry him. He was all nervous, but he looked a little different than he does now. Less…worn. Why was that, mum?"

"What d'you mean by 'worn'?" Keena asked with a slight frown, shifting the baby in her arms, wincing slightly when Aradia tugged too hard on a strand of her hair.

"Well, you know how he's got those gray hairs? His hair was all brown and his face just looked…fuller I guess," she shrugged. "Is there a way to fix lycanthropy now?"

"Almost," Keena replied before turning to face Aradia.

"Almost?" Hermione asked, keen on getting an answer now that Keena had admitted to it. We had all wondered about the after affects of the potion Remus had gone to test, but none of the adults had said anything to us.

But Keena didn't answer now either. She wrinkled her nose and sniffed just as Aradia's eyes began to water. With a tolerant chuckle, she stood up and left the kitchen without another word.

"Why don't we get to know anything?" I complained to Mrs. Weasley as she came over to the table and began to give each of us a serving of potatoes.

"This was Remus' decision; he doesn't want anyone getting their hopes up prematurely," she replied.

"But weren't there other werewolves who had to help test it?" Ginny asked, twisting in her seat as her mother returned to the stove.

"I don't know the finer details, love," she answered with a half shrug. "Eat up, girls, we've another long day ahead of us."

* * *

_Keena's Point of View: _

The morning of Alianna's twelfth birthday, Aradia decided that sleeping until seven in the morning was possible. Alianna, on the other hand, was unable to wait past seven oh one before coming to our room to see us.

"Morning mum, dad!" she squealed as she came skipping into our room.

Sirius jerked slightly but stayed lying down, grumbling something about bludgers that made absolutely no sense as he rubbed his tired eyes. Alianna just giggled at him, going over to his side of the bed so that she could engulf him in a hug. She squeaked as he wrapped his arms around her in a bear hug and swung her onto the bed.

"You're older now; you should enjoy lie ins when they come," he informed her, yawning at the end. Alianna just giggled as his quiet snores resumed. He had not opened his eyes once.

She peeked over at me from between his arms and grinned widely.

"Happy birthday, sweetheart," I smiled, moving closer and sandwiching her between Sirius and me. "How does it feel to be twelve?"

"I feel…smarter!" she giggled. "And happy since it's my first birthday that I can remember having parents for," she added more seriously.

I leaned closer to her and kissed her softly on the forehead. "And you'll have us for many more."

It was a long day of keeping Alianna away from the kitchen as I helped Mrs. Weasley bake her birthday cake (Remus had warned everyone of my cooking disability long ago). I was allowed to frost it and nothing more. Sirius had gone with a glamoured James to Diagon Alley to pick up our little Ravenclaw's birthday presents. It became that much harder to keep her out of the kitchen once she realized that that was where her presents were, even though she already knew we had gotten her a broom of her own as well as several new books.

Finally it was time for desert. Alianna sat at the head of the table, bouncing up and down in her seat as we sang a loud, if tone-deaf, chorus of Happy Birthday. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before blowing out the bronze candles that sat upon her purple cake.

"Why purple?" Ginny asked curiously as she was handed her slice.

"Because it's like Ravenclaw and Gryffindor mixing together," Alianna answered with a smile.

The last day of vacation arrived and I was decidedly grateful that we would be leaving Grimmauld Place. Between Kreacher's creeping and my mother-in-laws screeching, it was a miracle that Aradia got any sleep at all.

I came downstairs yawning, Sirius trailing behind me and bouncing a sniffling Aradia. We entered the kitchen to find that everyone but Ron and Harry were awake. Kailey and Hermione were leaning over something and whispering excitedly while Ginny was wrinkling her nose as she surveyed a letter.

"I don't know why you're so upset," Alianna said just as I sat down next to Lily. "New books mean new adventures."

"The book lists finally came?" I said, glancing at the twins who nodded.

"Here is yours, Keena," Molly said, handing me a large envelope.

"Mine?" I asked, frowning as I accepted it.

The school usually just supplied me with whatever copies I needed. I opened the envelope to find that it was not a book list, but a lengthy letter. And it was not Dumbledore's handwriting.

I read the letter with narrowed eyes before crumpling it up in my fist and slamming it down on the table. Even Aradia stared at me as the silence fell around the room.

"Care to share?" James asked when no one said anything.

"She expects me to read all seven years' books on the theory of defense before allowing me to tutor any student in any subject, including Divination," I growled, shoving the letter towards Remus since he was staring at it in a not so subtle manner.

"But classes start in two days," Lily said slowly.

"Even Hermione and Ali combined couldn't get through that much bookwork that quickly," Kailey added earning an eye roll from Hermione and a look of challenge from my daughter.

"How will she know if you do it?" Sirius asked before glancing at the kids. "Not that I'm advocating cheating," he added quickly at the speculative looks from the twins.

"A comprehensive test given by the Professor of Defense," Remus read from the letter. "Merlin, if you get one question wrong she's going to discredit you!"

"I'm not terribly worried about that, though," I replied with a shrug. "Ask Mickey if you want, but I never received less than perfect on any question that pertained to the theory of DADA. I only ever lost points if the professor added or subtracted something and I missed it and that only really ever happened when I was blind."

"Why would Professor McGonagall have those records?" Ginny asked with a slight frown. "Wouldn't it normally be the professor?"

"Normally," I answered with a nod. "But since when has DADA had a stable teacher? The heads of houses get those records while you're at school and then once you graduate they're given to McGonagall because she's the Deputy Headmistress."

"Regardless, you have a lot of reading to do," Kailey inserted. "Especially if you want to help anyone with Potions; dad won't let them slack just because you can't help them."

The worst part was I knew that she was right.

* * *

_Kailey's Point of View: _

"There you are."

Harry looked up at me and gave me a short, false grin. "You say that like you're genuinely surprised."

"I am; didn't think you'd climb all the way to the attic to sulk. And don't think Ron won't notice. He keeps on asking me if you're alright," I informed him as I tentatively sat down on an overturned laundry basket that was gathering dust. I glanced back up at him to see he was looking at me expectantly. "I told him you'd had a nightmare last night and it left you feeling worse for wear."

"Thanks," he mumbled, looking away from me again.

"Oh, c'mon, Harry, get a grip," I rolled my eyes. "You don't see me getting all angry for not getting a badge and a new set of power skills. Besides, now you and I can still rag on Malfoy and his goons whenever we like."

"Would've been nice to just give him a detention, though," Harry mused after a moment of consideration. "And since when has Ron been a leader? Or Hermione?"

I snorted. "Don't you think that might be the point? For Ron at least? Hermione already is a leader or did you forget about SPEW?"

"Who could forget about spew? I don't suppose you've caught her debating with my dad about freeing the family elves, have you?" he replied with a shake of his head. "But honestly, I've done so much more than Ron…"

"Exactly," I said slowly. "Ron's been your shadow plenty of times and now it's your turn. Quit being so melodramatic and go finish packing your crap; Mrs. Weasley is going to throw a little dinner party for them and you had better be all smiles and happiness, Mr. Potter."

He smirked at me as we stood up to leave the attic.

"You are very frustrating, Ms. Snape."

"Same to you, Potter," I grinned, reaching up and messing with his hair, squealing when he returned the favor.

**Thus ends chapter seven! I hope the confusion about her reading the 7****th**** book is all cleared up now and if it's not just let me know and I'll go ahead and explain in plain English in the end of the next chapter. Next will be number 8! And Umbridge! Reviews make me smile!**

**:-D**


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight: Return to Hogwarts

**Disclaim…**

**And thus begins the eighth chapter of this sixth segment.**

_Keena's Point of View:_

I bounced Aradia up and down gently as she screamed unhappily. Molly and Mrs. Black joined in on the uproarious chorus as Lily checked Ginny over to make certain that she truly was unharmed. The rest had scurried away from the front hall and Sirius and James were wrestling with the portrait hangings as she shrieked profanities.

I adjusted the baby in my arms in order to glance at my watch. I sighed, shaking my head. "Of all the days…sh, little love, mummy's here," I continued cooing nonsense as Mrs. Black was finally silenced and Molly's steam abated enough that she was no longer screaming quite so loudly.

"Is everybody down here? Hermione, go fetch Ronald and Harry!" Molly called up to Hermione who had just appeared on the landing. She returned barely a moment later with both boys trailing behind her, dragging their trunks.

"Are you sure you don't want us to help out at the station?" Sirius asked again, wincing as the boys began thumping their trunks down the stairs.

"Sirius Black, do you know how many years I've been at this?" Molly huffed, placing both hands on her hips.

"Don't worry, Sirius, she's got the rest of us with her and we won't miss the train if we leave now," Tonks answered with a smile as Kailey raced up the stairs to grab her cat.

Sirius looked doubtful for a moment but just ended up shaking his head in defeat.

"Sirius, we'd better go now, I've still got four more books to get through and I won't be able to do anything if Aradia doesn't calm down soon," I said, accepting the baby sling that Lily, now disguised as Libby, handed me.

He sighed and took the baby from my arms so I could get the sling on quicker. "Did Alianna pack all of her things up?"

"You'd have to ask her, love, I've been with the baby all morning," I answered, though I was looking at Aradia. "Let go of mummy's hair, love. Alianna!" I called once I had succeeded in getting the baby let go.

She appeared at the top of the stairs with an armful of books.

"Haven't you finished packing?" I asked doubtfully, glancing over my shoulder to see her stuffed trunk wedged between Ginny's and Hermione's things.

"Well, yes, but mum I don't know how safe my books will be if I leave them here…" she trailed off, caressing one of the spines of the larger texts.

I sighed and looked up at Sirius. "Have you got any extra space in your trunk?"

We ended up shrinking the books after promising Alianna that they wouldn't be damaged in the process and packing them into Aradia's travel bag. Sirius and I walked partway to the station with Alianna, Hermione and Remus before summoning the Knight Bus to take to Hogsmeade.

"Be good on the train," I said, kissing her on the cheek while Sirius and the conductor, who had introduced himself as Stan, wrestled one of the trunks onto the bus. "If anyone gives you any sort of trouble you come straight to us as soon as you get into the castle. In fact, why don't you and Samantha sit with the others? Or Luna?"

"Mum, I'll be fine; no one bothered Sammy or me on the way home," she answered, rolling her eyes.

I bit my lip for a moment, but Aradia distracted me with a noise of discontent.

"Don't worry, Keena, we'll watch out for her," Hermione assured me with a grin, though Alianna looked as though she wanted to roll her eyes again.

The ride on the Knight Bus was just as bumpy as I figured it would be and in no way did it improve Aradia's attitude. It quickly got to the point that other patrons were giving Sirius and me looks of pity as we tried to no avail to get the baby to calm down.

"Best of luck!" one older witch called out after us as we finally exited onto the main street of the village.

A carriage with a thestral was awaiting us and we were up at the school in no time. Aradia was finally content once we stepped across the threshold of the Great Hall. Sirius levitated the trunks behind us as we made our way towards our quarters. Along the way we bumped into Flitwick who craned his neck in an attempt to look at Aradia.

"Oh, she's grown so much in the last few weeks," he said as I stooped down so that he could see her.

"She'll be a month old tomorrow," Sirius smiled, letting the trunks land for a moment.

"Time certainly flies. Oh, by the way, there's to be a staff meeting in another half hour. I don't know if anyone's told you yet," he informed us before conjuring up a small, scarlet rattle and handing it to the baby.

She seemed to study the rattle for a moment before shaking it. It made a sweet tinkling sound and she gurgled in delight.

"Oh, Filius, you didn't have to do that," I said, though I couldn't contain a smile.

The little professor blushed. "Anything for the little one; it's been so long since a professor has raised a child in this castle. Did you know Professor Sinistra had a daughter just three years above your year? Lovely girl, too," he nodded sagely. "Well, don't let me keep you any longer; I'm sure you need to get settled."

Sirius thanked him again before we made it down the last few corridors. I opened the door and Sirius maneuvered the trunks into the room. He brought them into our bedroom as I shut the door. He emerged from our bedroom with a happy grin.

"Let me guess," I said, stalling him when he opened his mouth. "Only one bed now?"

* * *

_Kailey's Point of View:_

"Neville wait!"

But it was too late and suddenly everyone was covered in smelly stinksap. I slowly lowered my hands from in front of my face and looked around. Neville was blinking wildly, an expression between shock and awe on his face before he glanced around at the rest of us. Ginny's cloak looked as though it had turned green as had Luna's magazine, which she had used as a shield. Ali was slowly lowering her hood and Sammy was peeking out from behind her friend. I glanced over at Harry and had to fight to keep from laughing.

His face was covered in the stuff and it looked almost as if he were wearing some sort of green sunglasses. Trevor was still squirming in his hands.

"I—I didn't realize…Harry I'm so sorry," Neville stuttered. "It's alright though, it's not poisonous either," he added as Harry spit a mouthful out onto the ground.

That's when I gave up on containing my laughter, though Harry gave me a look as he finally reached up and wiped off his glasses.

"Oh, come off it, Harry," I sniggered. "It does match your eyes wonderfully."

We turned towards the door to the compartment as it suddenly rattled open. Ali huffed slightly and turned back to the conversation that she and Sammy that they had started before Neville poked his plant. But Harry's full attention was suddenly on the Ravenclaw Seeker in front of him.

"Oh, sorry, is this a bad time, Harry?" she asked, glancing around the compartment.

"Er—well, hi…" he tried weakly and it was all I could do to keep from rolling my eyes.

Instead I looked over at Ginny to see that she was rolling her eyes. At least we had one thing in common.

"Right, um…I guess I'll," she played with the end of her sleeve. "See you later?"

"Uh…right, see you," Harry answered.

Cho nodded and shut the door behind her as she left.

"Anybody any good at _Scorgify_?" Alianna asked once Cho was gone.

Ron and Hermione finally arrived an hour after the ride had started, happily accepting their favorite treats which Ginny and I had thought to make sure to get. Ron plopped down between Harry and Neville while Hermione looked around for a seat.

"Here, 'Mione," I said, sliding to the floor beneath the window to make room for her next to Alianna. "You look like you've had fun," I added a little sarcastically when she hesitated.

She smiled slightly as she sat down. "It was alright, nothing terribly exciting."

"What's to be excited over? You'll never guess who else made prefect," Ron said, glancing between Neville and Harry.

But Harry groaned. "Not Malfoy?"

"Got it in one."

"Bloody hell,"

"And Pansy Parkinson too," Hermione sniffed. "It's going to be horrid."

"Who else got it?" Neville asked, looking from Ron to Hermione.

"It's Ernie Macmillan and Hannah Abbot for Hufflepuff," Ron started before taking an enormous bite out of a chocolate frog head. "Nd Ntnee 'olstnn nd—"

"For heaven's sake, Ron," Hermione interrupted. "It's Anthony Goldstein and Padma Patil for Ravenclaw," she finished, shaking her head at her fellow prefect.

"You brought Padma with you to the Yule Ball," Luna stated suddenly, though her voice remained airy and light as she spoke.

"Er…yeah," Ron answered after he'd swallowed.

"She wasn't very happy with you; you weren't very kind to her," Luna's expression didn't change nor did her voice waver as she spoke. "You wouldn't dance; I think that's why she was upset. Because you danced with Kailey when she asked."

"I didn't ask so much as force him to dance," I replied with a smile.

Luna tilted her head as she gazed at me before nodding.

"I'll have to tell Padma; she thinks you stole her date," she said before lifting up _The Quibbler _to her nose once more.

I stared at her bemusedly before shaking my head. "That certainly explains why Parvati wouldn't talk to me for weeks afterwards; if she thought I stole Ron from her sister."

"Or maybe that you'd taken Harry from her," Hermione suggested with a shrug.

I shrugged in reply. "Either or, doesn't matter to me, really. When does your patrol start?"

"Too soon," Ron grumbled with a glance at his watch. "It's a right pain, but at least we can give out punishments," Ron said to Harry and Neville. "Can't wait to get Crabbe and Goyle," he added with a smirk, which both boys mirrored.

"Ron! You can't use your power like that!" Hermione scolded.

"Sure he can! My dad does it all the time," I interrupted with a smile. "Oh, I've got a good idea! You should knock points from them every time he knocks points from us in Potions!"

"Brilliant!" Ron agreed excitedly. "You don't think he'll catch on, do you?"

"No way; he would never think Hermione would let you get away with that," I replied, shaking my head.

"That's because I won't."

"Not if you don't catch him at it."

"Kailey!"

"Hermione," I answered solemnly, making the younger girls laugh as Hermione unleashed her best McGonagall imitation glare on me. "You can't honestly think that'll intimidate me when I have to deal with my dad's looks, right?"

She sighed in defeat.

* * *

_Keena's Point of View: _

"I is assuring you, Mistress Professor Keena, little Miss is being fine with Sparky," the tiny elf was only twice the size of Aradia, but her voice was much deeper than what I was used to hearing in a house elf. It was much more soothing than the usual squeaky tones that they possessed.

"Are you sure? We could have another elf stay with you until you got used to watching her on your own…" I trailed off as Sirius cleared his throat and tapped his watch impatiently.

"Keena, we're going to be late if we wait much longer," he said, a trace of annoyance in his face. "And that's the last thing we need. Besides, Sparky has been watching her for a few hours now."

I sighed. It was true, Sparky had arrived not long after we had and taken up her duty very quickly. She had big, watery blue eyes, large ears and long fingers. I had been a little concerned that Aradia would be frightened of her, but she had been fascinated by the elf's ears instead, happily tugging on them.

"I know, I just don't feel right leaving her here," I muttered.

"I understand, Keena, but we can't bring her to the feast. She can come to other meals, just not this first one; it would get too chaotic if she started crying and you know how she is when people shout. The Sorting Hat would terrify her."

I winced slightly at the image before following Sirius to the door.

"Fine, but next year she comes."

He chuckled, wrapping an arm around my shoulder. "Alright, Professor Black, next year she can come."

With one last glance to Aradia, I followed my husband out the door. Snape came up from one of the staircases just ahead of us and paused to wait. His usual sneer wasn't in place as he resumed walking beside us.

"Never repeat this to anyone," he stated quietly and Sirius and I both looked over at him. "I'm worried about Longbottom."

I managed not to laugh out loud at the idea of Snape worrying over any student aside from his daughter. The concept was strange.

"I've only got two more books to read, they're all terribly short, before I can take that test of hers, Severus," I replied lightly. "And Neville has improved so much that I doubt he will need much assistance from me this year in any case."

"Say what you will now; his confidence will shatter at the slightest mistake in my classroom," Snape sneered at me, rolling his eyes.

"So don't be quite so harsh on him," Sirius suggested.

But Snape gave Sirius one of his are-you-thick-? looks.

"He has that class with Slytherins, love," I whispered. "What if you had him partner with Hermione or Kailey?" I suggested.

"I've never assigned partners—the students would notice."

"You haven't? Why not?" Sirius asked perplexed. "Slughorn did that to us all the time."

"Because of who my first partner was," Snape replied bluntly.

We walked in an awkward silence for a moment as we remembered our first few potions of first year. That in turn led me to thinking about every duel I had ever had with Snape, particularly the one which had resulted in my quitting my teaching post as DADA professor at the end of Charlie Weasley's fifth year.

Snape cleared his throat slightly and I looked up at him.

"If you try to apologize I'm going to jinx you," I interrupted as he opened his mouth.

He gave me a slight smirk before nodding as we arrived at the doors to the Great Hall.

"I'll get the message through to the kids about partnering with Neville," I said quietly as we headed towards the staff table.

Dumbledore was already there, gazing up towards the ceiling. Most people likely assumed he was deep in thought about some great mystery. However, I knew better. I had asked him once what was so mesmerizing about the sky to which he had replied he was simply thinking about whether or not he should deviate from his candy-themed passwords. It had been a very Dumbledorean moment.

Beside him on one side was McGonagall's empty chair that had two more empty chairs beside it. On the other side, however, sat our newest staff member; Umbridge. Beside her was one empty chair. The three of us glanced at one another briefly before rushing up to the table, trying not to look as though we were racing for the seats away from the toad-like woman.

Sirius reached the table first, sitting down in the chair beside where McGonagall would soon sit. Snape made it to the table second, but Sirius shoved the chair out and called to me.

"Here, Keena let me get this for you," he grinned while Snape presented him with a foul look, causing a few of the others who had noticed to chuckle. Unfortunately, Umbridge seemed to have other plans.

"Oh, Professor Black, dear, or mightn't I call you Keena?" she smiled sweetly, leaning past Dumbledore, who took his eyes away from the ceiling in order to watch the conversation.

"Of course, if I might call you Dolores," I replied, equaling her falsely sweet tone.

"Yes, of course, we are coworkers, you know. But I was rather hoping that you would sit over here with me tonight," she presented me with a toothy smile as she scrunched up her nose.

I glanced at Sirius, he had his back to Umbridge and his smile faded as he looked up at me.

"Sure," I answered, a little too quickly. "I'll see you after the feast," I added to Sirius who nodded as he let go of the chair.

I walked over and sat down beside her, fighting desperately against the urge to change the color of her cardigan; there was only so much pink one could take. She looked up at me and smiled again and I returned the gesture, glancing beyond her to see that Dumbledore, Sirius and Snape were all staring.

"How have you found Hogwarts so far, Dolores?" I asked, figuring I should at least talk to the woman.

"Lovely as ever, dear," she answered with a breathy laugh. "But where is the little one? I didn't get a chance to see her after that staff meeting was over…" she trailed off and I tried to ignore Sirius as I saw his eyes narrow.

I smiled. "Oh she's back in our quarters with one of the house elves watching over her. We decided it would not be appropriate to bring her to the Opening Feast."

"A personal elf or one from the school?" she asked and I could tell immediately what she was getting at.

"A Potter elf; we wouldn't take from the school that way," I answered with a slight laugh.

"Very good, very good," she replied, though I caught the slight disappointment in the crease of her brow. "How are the books coming along?"

"I should be finished with them either tonight or tomorrow," I answered with a nod. "I must say, the information seems right on target, too," I added with another smile.

Again, I ignored Sirius as he snorted; I had read some of the first few books aloud to him yesterday and he was highly amused by the theory that defense could be successfully learned without practice. He quickly pretended to be talking to Snape as Umbridge turned to glance at them. Satisfied, she turned back around to face me again.

"I'm delighted to hear that," she grinned.

Before I was forced to make more conversation with her, Dumbledore stepped in. She turned away from me and I sighed in relief, pretending to wipe my brow. Dumbledore's lips quirked but he made no other sign that he had seen the action.

The doors to the hall opened loudly and suddenly the students were pouring in. The chatter was just as loud and happy as usual, a high contrast to the departing note from last term. It was good to see the students had their spirits up, but at the same time it worried me. I felt a little as though they had all suppressed the fact that one of their own had been murdered at the end of the term.

Shrugging the depressing thoughts from my mind, I scanned the crowd for Alianna. She and Samantha were sitting as close as they could to the staff table with Luna, chatting about something and gesturing to the magazine in Luna's hands every so often. I swallowed a laugh as I realized it was an edition of _The Quibbler_. My daughter glanced up at the staff table then and narrowed her gray-blue eyes as she looked from me to Sirius. She tilted her head, letting her dark brown hair slide over her shoulder as she looked up at me.

I gave her a slight smile in return, nodding my head towards Umbridge slightly, who failed to notice as she continued her conversation with Dumbledore. Alianna's eyes narrowed further but she just shook her head and turned back to the other two.

Next I turned my attention to the Gryffindor table. I easily made out where the four of them were sitting thanks to Ron's famous Weasley hair. They too were staring from me to Sirius in curiosity. Harry caught my eye and pointed to Sirius before shrugging and shaking his head. I sighed but before I could nod towards Umbridge again, she turned and addressed me.

"Keena, dear, didn't you and Sirius adopt a child last term?" she asked sweetly.

"Yes, she's just turned twelve about a week ago. Her name is Alianna, she's right there," I said, gesturing to her.

"Oh, I see her, she looks just like you," she said happily. "A magical adoption then?"

I nodded. "She wanted it."

"Oh how lovely," her voice was getting far too syrupy for my taste and I had a distinct feeling it wasn't just half-breeds that she was prejudiced against. But before she could continue to ask me questions about my older daughter, the doors to the hall opened a second time and the first years spilled in behind McGonagall.

* * *

_Kailey's Point of View: _

The mark on my face was not as raised as it had been when it was new and it rarely throbbed at all anymore. It may not have been an actively cursed scar like Harry's, thank Merlin, but I noticed that whenever I was nervous or upset I was more aware of its presence. I slowly ran a hand along the scar on my face as I nervously listened to Umbridge drone on about how change was not always for the better.

I exchanged a quick, worried glance with Hermione as she contradicted herself by saying some traditions needed to be "pruned". I wasn't sure how much pruning I would be able to prevent without getting myself expelled in the process. Hopefully it wouldn't need to get to that point.

The scattered applause that suddenly sounded caused me to jerk out of my thoughts. I clapped once or twice before leaning towards the other three.

"That _was_ illuminating," Hermione muttered in unhappy agreement with the headmaster.

"You actually enjoyed that?" Harry asked, while Ron raised an eyebrow.

"The two of you should invest in a dictionary; illuminating doesn't mean enjoyable," Hermione grumbled, rolling her eyes.

"It was insightful," I said, cutting Ron off as he opened his mouth to retaliate. "Even if she is a horrible speaker," I conceded. "She sounded just like a script."

"It probably was a script," Hermione pointed out.

"But what did it all mean?" Ron pressed.

"It means," Hermione paused and glanced at me, but I only stared at her to continue. "It means that the Ministry is interfering with Hogwarts."

Before either of them could do more than exchange a nervous glance, the chairs around us began scraping. Dumbledore had finished speaking and everyone was heading off for bed. Hermione and Ron went to their duties to the first years and Harry and I left them to it, though I found myself wishing we had stuck with them as whispers followed us out of the hall.

"Look, they've come back!"

"Still sticking to each other then."

"He's mad, I've heard."

"—ought to be locked in St. Mungo's…"

"I bet he forced her into it—"

"—I just don't understand why she's hanging around—"

"She's told people You-Know-Who gave her that scar—"

"It's as if they think we don't have ears," I said loudly as the whispers followed us out into the hallway. "Horrible, gossiping prats," I added, gaining nothing more than a few gasps and an increase in angry muttering.

Harry rolled his eyes. "You should be used to it all by now, especially after the Tournament," he said as we mounted the stairs.

"Yeah, right, and let them walk all over me? It's like they've forgotten all about how you saved the stone in first year or Ginny in second year. Or when we managed to prove Sirius' innocence the year after that!" I complained as we made our way along one of the less travelled corridors.

"They only remember what they want to," he said with a shrug. "Or what they're told to."

"Some things just never change," we looked up to see the Fat Lady clucking her tongue as she shook her head at us. "Rest assured that the portraits believe you both."

"Thank you, that's comforting," I replied with a slight half-smile. Too bad nobody ever really cared about what a painting had to say even if they did have the most accurate gossip. "Mimbulus mimbletonia," I added and she gave me a satisfied nod before swinging wide open.

"Hermione tell you that?"

We turned around to see Neville had joined us, though he was panting slightly.

"Oh…yeah," I answered a little distantly, realizing I had not had to keep my secret for an entire summer. Not even in front of Malfoy on the train ride home. "She let me in on it at dinner."

He nodded and followed us into the common room.

I bid the boys good night and headed up to my dorm. Parvati and Lavender were already in there, though they stopped talking at the sight of me. I sighed and sat down on my bed, shedding my cloak before looking at them.

"How much do you need to know in order for you to believe me?"

They exchanged quick glances before looking back at me.

"The scar on your face…it's real?" Parvati asked, her eyes flickering to it for a moment. Lavender didn't bother to look away. "It isn't just…make-up or anything?"

"No, it's real," I replied wondering why in Merlin's name anyone would want such a horrid thing permanently marring their face.

"How do we know that that is the truth?"

I worked extremely hard to not roll my eyes. "Here, touch it; it's still raised a little."

Parvati bit her lip, but nevertheless she came forward and ran a finger quickly across the scar. She looked at her hand as if expecting to see make-up residue before she looked back up at me, eyes wide.

"I've got these too," I added, pulling up the sleeve of my uniform sweater to show them the snake bite that scared my left forearm. "It's from Voldemort's snake; she's enormous."

"How d'you know it was a she?" Lavender whispered after they had finished flinching at his name.

"He called her one," it was a little lie, but it didn't really matter. "Do you believe me now?"

"Well it's a little hard to…you didn't come back with Harry and Cedric, but we all saw you disappear together. No one saw you come back at all…"

"I know it's hard to believe it but…it happened. All of it," I looked away from the two of them. "I'm not insane or controlled by Harry or anything like that. I witnessed the whole thing for myself and even though I wish people would believe me, I'd never wish it upon anyone else to see the things I've seen…" I trailed off, clenching my eyes shut and trying to banish not the scenes from the graveyard, but the words from the pages of scenes that had yet to come.

"I believe you," Parvati said abruptly.

I looked up at her, rubbing at my eyes.

"Don't take this the wrong way, but you're like your dad in some ways. You can get people's attention without yelling and you're really powerful in a duel…and you're usually pretty unemotional, well, I mean unless you're angry. I mean, you don't usually let your weaker side show," she explained, a small crease appearing in her brow as she tried to get the words just right. "I think the only other time I can remember you crying about anything was after the Yule Ball, when you woke up screaming."

I looked away from her, feeling slightly embarrassed now as I furiously rubbed at the tears. "My dad is different."

"Yeah, because he's lonely," Lavender inserted gently, though I would be willing to bet she would have liked to have rolled her eyes. "But you have friends so…you can let your guard down, at least a little. I'll admit, I didn't believe you even ten minutes ago but now…I, well, we believe you, Kailey, you and Harry both."

I sniffed a little and let out a watery smile just as the door opened and Hermione entered. "I suppose the Gryffindor girls are sticking together, then," I said. "Merlin help the boys."

* * *

_Keena's Point of View:_

"Do you suppose she'll be alright with all of the chatter?" I asked as I glanced down at my baby as she shook the rattle Flitwick had given to her before unceremoniously shoving the handle of it into her mouth.

"She'll be fine, and if she isn't then I'm sure the students will understand us not eating in the Great Hall all of the time," Sirius replied. "How late did you end up going to bed?" he asked, noticing how I rubbed my eyes.

"I don't even know," I laughed lightly before smiling down at Aradia as she let out a shriek of delight. "I finished the sixth years' book so now I only have to finish the last one and I'll be all set to take her little test."

We entered the Great Hall and the few students who were present all looked over at us, some of the girls giggling excitedly and pointing to the baby. Aradia still had part of the rattle in her mouth, but her smile had faded slightly upon the sounds of the students. Alianna and Samantha, who had been sitting at the Ravenclaw table, walked over to the three of us as we reached the front of the hall.

"She's adorable, Professor!" Samantha cooed as she got a look at the baby. "Ali, you are _so_ lucky; I always wanted a little sister."

Alianna beamed before looking down at her little sister. "Where did she get that rattle from, mum?"

"Professor Flitwick gave it to her yesterday," I answered, glancing down in time to see Aradia remove said rattle from her mouth and gave it an excited wave.

Within moments of the movement, it seemed like half the students were suddenly gathering around us, trying to get a look at the baby. Aradia seemed to bask in the attention for all of five minutes before she began sniffling at the noise everyone was making.

"I think we'd better go and sit," Sirius suggested and several of the students groaned, but they pulled away and headed back to their respective tables in any case.

I sat down beside McGonagall, who pulled out her wand and transfigured the seat on my other side into a seat for Aradia. I smiled my thanks at her before placing her in the seat and sitting myself down.

"Did she sleep last night?" McGonagall asked and Dumbledore leaned over to listen in.

"She woke up twice because she was hungry and again when she was wet, but Sparky insisted on taking care of that second issue, so I only ended up getting out of bed twice," I replied.

"Oh my, what a sweet little girl."

McGonagall and I both looked up to see Umbridge staring down at my daughter, her horrible toad face split into a wide grin. I forced a smile out in return, but I couldn't rid myself of the forbidding feeling that something was not right.

"Thank you, Dolores," Sirius responded from his seat on Aradia's other side when I failed to.

"Professor Umbridge, if you please, Auror Black," she replied a trifle frostily.

"As you wish," he replied sounding a bit like a formal pureblood for a moment, but I caught the dangerous flash in his eyes.

"As you wish, _Professor_," she pressed.

I cleared my throat, addressing Aradia. "Baby, don't put that in your mouth," I said calmly. "Sparky," I called quietly and the elf was suddenly beside me.

"Mistress is calling Sparky?" the elf suggested, bowing low.

"Yes, I'm sorry but I think we left Aradia's pacifier behind this morning. Would you mind fetching it for us?" I requested politely.

Sparky blushed slightly, disappearing with a soft crack, returning only a few moments later, with the pacifier in hand. "Here is little Miss Aradia's pacifier, Mistress. Is that being all Mistress was wishing of Sparky?"

"Yes, thank you, Sparky, you've done a wonderful job so far," I answered.

"Mistress is too kind," she said, bowing quickly before she disappeared once more.

I gently tugged the rattle from Aradia's grip and just as she opened her mouth to cry, I replaced it with the pacifier. She closed her mouth quickly and I handed her the rattle back, which she began waving around once more in delight. I glanced up to see Umbridge still standing there.

"Can I help you with something, Professor?" I asked, delicately stressing her title.

"Well, dear, I was just wondering if you thought it…_appropriate_ to bring an infant to the Great Hall for breakfast, or any meal for that matter."

"I assure you I would not bring her here without Professor Dumbledore's permission. And if she does become fussy I will bring her back to our quarters myself. She is not the first child to be raised inside of this castle, however, Professor." I answered, doing my best to watch my tone.

"That was something else I was concerned about, Keena," she said sweetly. "How will you ever be able to help the students if you are always busy with your baby?"

"Sparky will be watching her during my office hours, once they are allowed to resume."

"And when do you suppose that will happen?"

"Tomorrow sometime, I suspect, I only have one more book to read and then I believe I'll be ready to take the exam."

She frowned. "Are you certain you've been able to retain the information?"

"Oh, yes," I answered with a nod. "I've always been very good at DADA theory; Professor McGonagall can attest to that if you'd like to look at my school records."

"That will not be necessary, so long as you remain loyal to the proper Ministry approved methods of teaching DADA," she replied crisply. "Just drop by my office when you feel ready for the examination."

I nodded to her and she gave a slight huff before heading over to the other side of Dumbledore to sit down.

Sirius and I exchanged cautious glances before returning to breakfast.

One thing was for sure; I would be glad when the DADA curse hit Dolores Umbridge.

**That's it for this chapter! I hope you enjoyed it and will leave me a tiny little comment (it legit takes, what? Two seconds?) if you did! Next is chapter 9! Until then!**

**:-D**


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine: Magic

**Disclaimed as always! **

**Please enjoy!**

_Kailey's Point of View:_

I glanced at Harry as I stirred my potion carefully. He seemed to be off in his own little world and I had a bad feeling that Snape would have no reservations about playing his role as a Death Eater dutifully, especially in front of the Slytherins.

"Harry, can you make out the third line? I can't quite see it," I muttered quietly.

He looked up at the board for a moment as he mindlessly added his powdered moonstone to the potion. "Add powdered moonstone, stir it three times counterclockwise and allow it to simmer for seven minutes. Then you need to add two drops of…" he squinted slightly. "Syrup of hellebore…" he trailed off slightly and glanced at me as I stopped my stirring for a moment. "But you just added the ingredients for the fourth line."

"Oh, right, silly me," I answered in a hushed voice as Snape paused beside Neville's cauldron. I winced slightly as Neville stuttered something unintelligible in response to whatever my dad had said to him, but no points were taken as far as I could tell.

"Do you have any extra hellebore?" Harry muttered, also watching as Snape turned and headed towards the Slytherin side of the room.

I bit down on a smile as I gently handed it to him, careful to keep it away from both of our potions. Extra hellebore would have caused the potion to spew a dark gray cloud of poisonous gas, after all.

I shuddered slightly at the thought. Clearly, I was learning too much about potions if I was starting to think like Snape.

In the end, Hermione and I were the only two to have silvery vapor floating gently above our cauldrons. Harry had stirred once too many times between the fifth and sixth steps and Ron…alright, I need to find a subject other than potions to be good at.

Thankfully, though, my dad was unable to say that Harry's potion was a complete mess. He called it a partial one instead.

"And do you know why you only stir it twice between the fifth and sixth steps, Potter?" he sneered at him.

Harry's eyes flickered to me before going back to my dad. "No, sir," he replied.

"Because adding one more stir does not allow the vapors you see coming from Ms. Snape's potion to be released. It's nearly a disaster."

But he didn't vanish the potion, he simply moved to the front of the room, commanding everyone to place some of their potion in flasks and bring them to the front. I dodged around Crabbe, just barely avoiding him as his robes caught fire, and placed my flask on Snape's desk. As I walked by Neville, I "accidentally" knocked extra beetle juice into the cauldron. The consistency of the potion where it contacted became much more liquefied and he glanced up at me with wide eyes.

"Oops," I shrugged, winking at him as he hurriedly stirred the juice in before lifting it out and putting it into his flask. Snape either didn't notice or pretended not to notice.

I made it back to my own cauldron and cleared everything away alongside the other three. Hermione glanced between me and Neville for a moment, a faint smile spreading over her face, though she said nothing until we left the classroom, heading for the Great Hall for lunch.

"How did you know what Neville's potion needed?" she demanded once we were sure we were beyond Snape and any Slytherin's hearing range.

I rolled my eyes at her. "Don't you remember what I told you the summer before third year? Dad over taught me potions and I ended up being bored with the homework a lot so…" I shrugged, trailing off. "Not last year so much, mind you, but over the summer before the whole dementor thing I read a lot."

"Hang on," Harry said, glancing around for a moment before lowering his voice. "I thought you were reading that other book."

"Yeah, but there's only so many times I can read about the same thing. Just be thankful that I thought to remember that you would forget to add your hellebore."

"Hey! What about my potion?" Ron asked as we took our seats at the Gryffindor table. "You couldn't've helped me out as well?"

"Sorry Ron, but by the time I looked over to see you go wrong, there was no way that I knew how to fix it without adding an extra five newts and we didn't have any," I said, wincing slightly.

"Merlin, you _are_ good at potions," we glanced up to see Fred and George looking down at us.

"Family trait," I mumbled, suddenly embarrassed about the whole thing.

"Then we have a proposition for you," George said, sitting down on my left.

"One which we think you could profit from," Fred added, sitting down on Hermione's other side.

"What kind of…proposition?" I asked suspiciously.

"Potions consultation," George declared.

"You see, we are able to do most of our own work,"

"But with your help we'd probably cut down by a quarter,"

"Maybe even half,"

"Of our potions mistakes,"

"That's cheating!" Hermione hissed, glaring between the two.

They stared back at her, each with an eyebrow raised.

"Not for school," Fred spoke up finally.

"We meant for our products," George explained.

"Granted we're inventing a lot of it,"

"But still, potions was never our best subject,"

"That's even worse!" Hermione cried. "Ron! Tell them no!"

"I'd much rather be kept out of this," Ron replied, his ears going slightly red.

"You're a prefect for heaven's sake," Hermione glared. "This is your _job_."

"Kailey can make up her own mind," Ron argued.

"But she isn't _allowed_ to be doing this!"

"All she'd be doing is making sure they don't _poison_ someone!"

"And she happens to be sitting right here," I reminded them moodily before rolling my eyes and looking at George. "I'll think about it."

"We'll write up a contract," Fred grinned.

With that they up and left, moving down the table to sit with Lee Jordan and Angelina Johnson, who seemed to be debating over something. Shaking my head, I went to return to my meal when I caught the look on Hermione's face.

"What?" I asked defensively.

"Kailey, you _can't_ help them! And you!" she said, suddenly rounding on Ron. "You're supposed to help me with stuff like this!"

"Give it a rest already, Hermione," Harry grumbled, shoving his seat back and heading out of the hall, ignoring the muttering and whispering following him to the door.

"Brilliant," I sighed, shaking my head and standing to follow him, pausing as Hermione spoke up.

"You know, Kailey, I understand that you and Harry are having a hard time but…" she paused shaking her head.

"You want us to stop jumping down your throats just because we're angry ourselves. More so Harry than me, but I've done it a bit as well I know. And I'm trying to stop, but you're just saying things that make it easier for him to be angry, the both of you," I said, shifting my bag so that I could gesture to them. "Just by arguing, it pisses him off…"

"But he doesn't control _your_ emotions, Kailey," Hermione pressed.

"Maybe not, but he's too stubborn to let anyone else talk to him and it's frustrating enough to deal with _his_ moods, but when you two start going at it for no reason it just piles up. At least I can understand why _he_ gets so angry," I shook my head again before sighing. "I'll see you later."

* * *

_Keena's Point of View: _

I watched Harry storm out of the Great Hall with a frown on my face. Kailey stood, exchanged a few words with Hermione, and followed him out. I tilted my head slightly as I watched her go.

"What do you think that was all about?" Sirius muttered, obviously having seen exactly what I had seen.

I shrugged. "Hermione and Ron fight as constantly as James and Lily used to. And while they weren't in the same group of friends, Ron and Hermione are which means they probably fight even more."

"What's that got to do with Harry?" Sirius asked, glancing up at me as he bent down to retrieve the pacifier Aradia had dropped to the floor between us.

"Haven't you noticed his attitude lately?" I replied with a shake of my head. "He's been angry over the littlest things; Kailey probably went to follow him and calm him down."

Sirius opened his mouth to say something else when we were interrupted by the ever present "Hem, hem," of Umbridge.

"Keena, dear, how far along are you with those books?" she asked in her soft voice.

"Only a chapter left. Shall I just head to your room when I've finished with it?" I asked, not bothering with the polite titles I had awarded her that morning.

"Yes, that would be splendid dear. But where will the child be? I have classes, you know," she said, pointing a stubby, bejeweled finger at Aradia.

"Sparky will watch her," I replied with a sweet smile.

She returned it with a forced smile of her own before heading down the table.

"I truly pity Dumbledore; he has to spend every meal next to the woman," Sirius muttered once she was sitting and speaking with the headmaster.

I managed to finish the book earlier than I expected and gave a great sigh. Hopefully the test wouldn't be anything beyond the surface but even if it was I knew the general idea; don't ever use magic.

I arrived to find the DADA classroom was empty save for Umbridge who appeared to be shuffling papers around on her desk. When I reached her I found that she was busily organizing the papers so that each was perfectly lined up one atop the other. I cleared my throat gently and her head snapped up.

"Finished already, dear?"

"Yes, I think I'm ready," I smiled in return.

"Alright, here you are then. If you wouldn't mind setting up in the back of the classroom? I would hate for the students to become distracted, you see," she gave a high-pitched girly giggle that girls younger than Alianna normal produced. "Once you've finished you're more than welcome to observe."

I suppressed a shudder and nodded, taking the surprisingly thin packet, quill and ink in my hands and heading to the back of the room. I sat down and flipped through the parchments to see how long this little test should take me to find that, much like the books themselves, there was little variation from question to question. Each of the seven pages was headed by the year and book which it was to be testing me on. I held in a sigh and began to work.

The bell rang not two minutes after I had sat down and slowly students began pouring into the room. I glanced up once and gathered that I would be sitting in on fifth year Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs and was secretly grateful; I would be able to intervene if Kailey or, more likely, Harry started something.

I had only two questions left when Umbridge called her class to order. I tried not to roll my eyes as she had them greet her like a bunch of five-year-olds, but it was difficult. I polished off the last two questions and, taking her offer, began to observe the class. I quickly found out that I was not the only one observing; within twenty minutes every student was watching Hermione sit with a patiently raised hand.

This would not be good.

I opted to stare at Umbridge instead of Hermione and when she looked up, her eyes flashed back towards me for a moment. She gave me a little smile before sitting up primly.

"Did you wish to ask something about the chapter, dear?" she asked sweetly.

Mistake number one: assuming Hermione Granger would ever have a question about a reading assignment.

"No, not about the chapter."

"Well, dear, that is what we're doing just now. If you have a different question it can wait until after class," she replied, her grin widening before she turned back to whatever it was she was doing on her desk.

Mistake number two: assuming Hermione would not do her best to get her answer regardless of whether it was considered pertinent by the professor or not.

"My question is about your course aims," Hermione stated firmly.

Umbridge's third mistake was her kiss of death for these students, I was sure of it.

She raised an eyebrow; she expressed doubt towards the head of the year.

"I'm sorry and you're name is…?"

"Hermione Granger," she answered, lowering her hand at last. Her tone indicated she was already unimpressed with the new DADA professor.

"Ms. Granger, I do believe that the course aims are quite clear if one reads through them carefully," her smile appeared much more forced than it had earlier and I carefully kept a curious expression in place, not wanting to give her an excuse to not trust me.

"Well I don't—you've mentioned nothing about using the defensive spells."

"Using spells? When would you ever need to use a spell in my classroom dear?" she giggled unnaturally again. "Wouldn't you agree, Professor Black?" she called back before any of the other students could comment.

"I'm sorry, you wanted my input?" I asked, frowning slightly. She nodded happily and I had the abrupt feeling that I was upon the edge of a knife. "I can't imagine needing to _defensively_ use a spell within a classroom, however, in order to _safely_ _learn_ a spell I think most professors would agree that the classroom is the only appropriate setting."

"Are you suggesting, dear, that students be taught these spells?" she laughed a fluttery laugh and I inclined my head as the students all turned to stare at me. "How simply old-fashioned."

I gave her a tight smile in reply. Lockhart may have not have done a lot of things, but he never barred magic from his classroom. Even Trelawney attempted to teach her students magic; Lavender and Parvati had tried to get me to tutor them in the Sight last year. It had been...interesting.

"So we're not to use magic at all?" Ron blurted out.

"Students shall raise their hands in my classroom, Mr.…?"

"Weasley," Ron stuck his fist in the air, but Umbridge pointedly turned her back on him.

But Hermione, Kailey and Harry all lifted their hands into the air and when Umbridge looked up again she seemed to be trying to figure out which of the three would cause the least trouble. In the end she chose Hermione.

"Wouldn't the whole point of Defense Against the Dark Arts be to practice the actual spells?" she asked in her no nonsense tone.

"Are you a Ministry-certified and trained educational expert, Ms. Granger?"

"Well, no—"

"I'm afraid, then, that you are not qualified to decided what the 'whole point' of any course is here at Hogwarts. You will learn these defensive spells in a risk-free, secure environment—"

"What good will that do us?" Harry spoke up loudly. "If we're going to be attacked it won't be 'risk-free' will it?" he added air-quotes and I wished I had some way to get him to shut up, but he wasn't looking back at me anymore.

As Umbridge chided him for not using his hand, Dean's flew into the air. She was losing control and she knew it.

"You're name is?"

"Dean Thomas," he replied, lowering his hand. "And isn't it like Harry said? If we're attacked—"

"Do you expect to be attacked during the course of my class, Mr. Thomas?" Umbridge trilled, though she was quickly losing the false girly tones.

"But—"

"Professor Black? How would you handle this situation?" Umbridge cried again.

Mistake number four: calling on the school tutor to answer the questions that students ask while said tutor is only there to observe.

"Which situation, Professor Umbridge?" I replied. "The teaching of the spells or the students' questions?"

"Why don't we start with the students' questions?" she answered sweetly.

I smiled inwardly. She thought she was trapping me.

"Well, they seem to be asking the same question in different manners, which suggests they do not clearly understand your response, Professor Umbridge. In this case—might I come forward?" I asked after a quick pause.

"Oh, by all means, Professor Black, you know these students better than I do at the moment, after all," she placed delicate stress on the fact that it was only for 'the moment'.

I smiled in reply and came to the front of the room, handing her my exam as I did so. I turned to face the students and looked directly at Harry for a brief moment before letting my eyes drift.

"Now, you're all wondering how you're going to learn your defensive spells. That's perfectly understandable, especially with your OWLs coming up so soon," I paused and looked around, resting my gaze on Hermione for a moment. "However, according to your text, by carefully studying the theory of these spells, you should, in theory, be able to perform them perfectly well come exam time."

The students stared up at me in horror, but nobody raised a hand. I looked back at Umbridge to see that she looked surprised but pleased. I looked to the students once more to see that all of them had raised their hands.

"If your question is regarding the use of magic within this classroom, come and see me in my office," I said and all but Harry's hand was lowered. "That is, if my hours are opened once more?" I added, glancing behind me at the toad.

"Oh, certainly," she said, flipping through the little test. "Yes, I daresay that you will be opened by the end of this lesson even."

I smiled in reply before turning back to face Harry's hand only to see that he had lowered it and was giving Kailey an annoyed look. He also seemed to be rubbing his shin. Unfortunately, her hand had replaced his.

"Ms. Snape?" I asked calmly, hoping that she wouldn't stick her foot in her mouth.

"So when we go in for our practical portion of the DADA exam we're going to be performing that magic for the first time in front of the examiners? Is that correct?" she asked, keeping her tones polite, even if it was coming out a bit forced.

"Well, dear, it isn't as though you'll need to be able to perform defensive magic in the real world at any rate," Umbridge answered before I could open my mouth.

"So when we're attacked we're just supposed to roll over for the Death Eaters?" Harry blurted out.

"There are no more Death Eaters," Umbridge stated firmly, glancing at me though I had my eyes trained on Harry.

"Who else is taking Voldemort's orders?" he nearly shouted.

"Professor Black, perhaps you would like to comment on this?" Umbridge suggested sweetly.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. Now I was trapped.

"Death Eaters only take orders from Voldemort," I said slowly. "So if you were to be attacked by a known Death Eater then, yes, he or she probably thinks that Voldemort has ordered him or her to do so."

"And I quite agree," Umbridge stated. "But, Mr. Potter, it is also important to note that all Death Eaters have been caught and are currently in Azkaban where they belong. No one is going to attack any of you outside of this castle."

"Then Cedric Diggory dropped dead on his own, did he?"

The silence was ringing as every student stared either at Umbridge, Harry or me.

"Professor Black, you were one of the first people to see them when they returned. What did it look like to you?"

"It…I'm sorry, Professor Umbridge, but at this point I would no longer allow this type of conversation to take place. Cedric's death—"

"Mr. Diggory, you mean?" she interrupted. "It is quite inappropriate to be on first name basis with students, after all, Professor Black."

"Of course, of course," I answered hurriedly. "Mr. Diggory's death is a daunting topic, especially considering some of his former housemates are in this classroom. Mr. Potter, you, like any other student, may come to my office if you have further concerns. Even if it does not have to do with course work."

"But you are just a school tutor, dear, not a guidance counselor," her smile was no longer forced as it had been earlier and I had a sickening feeling that it was because she knew she was back on top.

"My job involves helping the students get the best possible grades that they can manage. Occasionally that involves personal issues," I replied stiffly. "Now, I think perhaps the students should return to their reading—I should like to go and post my office hours if you're certain I may return to them."

"Yes, dear, of course," she answered, flipping through the parchments once more. "Everything seems to be in order and you may go back to tutoring the students this very moment."

I nodded to her, recognizing the dismissal. I tried to give Harry a significant look, but he wouldn't look at me, his eyes glued to the book even though it was obvious that he was not actually reading it.

I reached my office just as the bell rang and slumped into my chair. Covering my face with my hands, I took several deep, slow breaths. I had just barely collected myself when I heard a loud knock on my door.

"Come in," I called and the door opened and the entire class of fifth year Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs spilled into the office. I blinked at them bemusedly for a moment before directing my attention towards Kailey who seemed to be heading the group. That's when I realized that Harry was not present.

"Did you mean it when you said we could learn magic through theory only?" she demanded.

Finally, a question I could answer honestly.

I snorted. "I never said that I believed that to be true; according to the theory of your _book_ you should theoretically be able to learn the magic."

"What do _you_ think though, Professor?" Hannah Abbot asked when I failed to continue.

"I think that's a load of dung, Hannah. Or should I call you Ms. Abbot now?" I rolled my eyes and several of the students laughed. "Regardless, I think that practice is what will make a spell perfect. Harry—pardon me, Mr. Potter was right; you will not be safe without knowing defense."

"Don't tell me you actually believe him," Seamus groaned. "Professor," he added hurriedly when I raised an eyebrow at him.

I leaned forward and folded my hands on my desk. Seamus stirred slightly under my gaze.

"Speaking as an aunt and a godmother, Mr. Finnigan," he winced when I didn't call him by first name. "Harry Potter has not once lied to me. Every detention he has ever had, he has informed me about. Every point taken, granted Professor Snape takes plenty, he has informed me about. Harry may be many things, Mr. Finnigan, but he is not good at lying. In fact, he's dreadfully terrible at it."

He gulped slightly under my stare and I let my gaze travel around the room. It was easy to tell which students believed Harry and Kailey's story and which of them didn't. The ones who hadn't needed the convincing were still looking at me and not inspecting their shoes.

"So what are we going to do, Professor?" Hermione asked, finally breaking the tension.

"You will study and you will practice," I replied. "My classroom will remain open to you for as long as you need it. Unfortunately, I'm not sure how long it will take before Umbridge figures out what's going on, so be very careful with who you tell, especially if you want to pass your OWLs."

* * *

_Kailey's Point of View: _

Our large group disbanded fairly quickly after leaving Keena's office. I noticed some of the Hufflepuffs giving me curious looks, but once they had caught my eye they had looked away quickly. I shrugged it off before turning to Ron and Hermione.

"Think he'll cool off on his own?"

Ron raised an eyebrow at me, clearly wondering about my sanity while Hermione just sighed dejectedly. I sighed as well, shaking my head. Harry had, luckily, not had time to mouth off to Umbridge before the bell rang and we escaped the class detention free and with all Gryffindor house points intact. The same could not be said for Harry's attitude.

When I announced my intention of seeing Keena immediately, the rest of the class had still been within earshot and eagerly decided to follow. Harry had grumbled something unintelligible and stormed off in the direction of Sirius' office instead.

"Should I go and find him?" I asked, absentmindedly rubbing at my scar.

"No offense, Kailey, but you really can't be going off all of the time and coddling him," Hermione said matter-of-factly. "He has to have known that Keena was just trying to keep her job so that she could help us with our OWLs."

"I dunno…" I mumbled. "He probably feels betrayed."

"Yes, he probably does," Hermione agreed fairly. "But he wasn't the only one in that graveyard, Kailey. It just seems like he keeps forgetting you went through a lot as well. Ron, has Harry woken you up with nightmares at all?" she asked, rounding on a confused Ron.

"No…" he said slowly. "Should he be?"

"And you have been waking us up, Kailey. Even last night you had—"

"I'm quite aware that I woke you all up last night," I snapped before feeling the embarrassed anger slide off of my face in shame. "I'm sorry," I whispered.

"It's alright," Hermione answered quietly. "But don't you see? That's exactly what I'm talking about. Let Harry take care of himself at least until you can take care of yourself better. I don't know what you read but…" she shrugged trailing off as she shook her head.

I bit my lip for a moment before looking up at Ron, who shrugged.

"He may not talk much, but you talk even less," he reasoned.

"That's not true," I frowned.

"It is when you consider that you've probably got more to say than he does. Hermione's right; you can't really help him until you've got your own nightmares under control."

I bit my lip again but nodded, adjusting the strap of my bag as we headed towards the dorms to put our bags away before dinner. We waited for Harry, but he never turned up. In the end the three of us decided to head to the Great Hall, though we did tell the Fat Lady to let him know where we were if he turned up without us.

The Great Hall was filled when we arrived and Harry was nowhere in sight. I looked to Ron, who shrugged, but Hermione pointed to the staff table. I turned to look and see that Sirius was not yet at dinner either. Unfortunately for him that meant he would get to sit next to Umbridge since it appeared that my dad had grabbed the seat beside Keena.

"What d'you suppose is wrong with Snape?" Ron asked, noticing the sour look on his face.

"It's Snape, Ron; he always looks like that," Hermione stated with a shrug as she sat down. "No offence, Kailey."

I snorted. "It's only the truth. But he does look especially annoyed at the moment. Wonder what it is…" I trailed off tilting my head at him for a moment.

He looked at me then, sneered and then returned to his food. I sighed and rolled my eyes, mimicking his action. Just because he had warned me to ignore his behavior while in public, didn't mean I had to like it.

* * *

_Keena's Point of View: _

"Must you allow her to shake that ridiculous toy?" Snape growled as Aradia shook her rattle.

I rolled my eyes. First she was so quiet that he thought something was wrong with her. Then she was sucking on a bit of her blanket. After that, he thought she smelled horribly. Now, she shouldn't shake her rattle.

"Honestly, Severus, feel free to switch seats before Sirius gets here," I replied, not bothering to look at him.

He snorted and I looked over at him in curiosity.

"Between a needy brat who cannot speak and one that can…well, I think the choice should be obvious," he sneered.

"I don't know about needy, but brat I can wholeheartedly agree on," I nodded. "Not about my daughter of course," I added when he raised a surprised eyebrow.

"I did not think so," he replied, turning towards his plate.

**That's the end of chapter 9! I hope you enjoyed it! Next will be number 10! Until then.**

**:-D**


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten: Detentions and Defenses

**I disclaim all events and characters recognized as belonging to JK Rowling. **

**I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy writing it! **

_Keena's Point of View: _

I jumped as the door to my office burst open two days after the start of term. The baby gave an unhappy cry before Sparky distracted her from the loud noise. I looked away from Aradia to see her father pacing angrily before me.

"Do you know what she just said to me?" he growled, not breaking in his pace.

"Obviously not, love," I replied evenly, flicking my wand to close the door that he had left wide open in his wake. "What did she say this time?"

He paused and took a deep breath before finally taking a seat in front of me. I looked at him expectantly, but he was staring at Aradia. Turning to glance at her, I saw that Sparky had given her a pacifier and she was now drowsily sucking and would shortly be asleep. Sirius sighed and ran a hand distractedly through his hair.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare her," he said softly, though bitterly as he shook his head.

I frowned at him, sensing he meant more than what he'd said.

"You don't scare her, Sirius."

He raised his eyes from the baby to gaze at me. I tilted my head and stared back, a worried expression on my face. He looked haunted, as though he had gone back to Azkaban over night for a stay.

"Sometimes I wonder," he replied. "I wonder if I have any business in raising kids…"

"Stop that," I ordered, giving him a stern look. "You are a wonderful father and that little witch has no business telling you otherwise."

He didn't answer right away and gazed at Aradia again. I sighed and stood up, walking around to sit on the arm of his chair, wrapping an arm around his shoulders. Without a word, he pulled me down onto his lap and held me close to him.

"She pointed it out to me that when I'm angry I look like a deranged convict. I didn't believe her until I saw my reflection, in that hall with the portrait of that old wizard whose always asleep. I caught some upper year Slytherins bothering two second year Hufflepuffs, had their wands and everything. I gave them detentions and was walking away when she did her little coughing thing," he paused and shook his head before throwing his voice up two octaves. "What a little temper you have, Mr. Black,' she said to me. 'Why poor dear Keena must worry about the girls.' I hadn't even raised my voice to those boys, but when she said that it made me so angry…I didn't say anything to her and she walked away but…"

"But nothing, Sirius," I said softly, not moving away from him. "She's wrong."

"You didn't see my reflection, Keena. I _looked_ like a convict."

"I hope you know how utterly ridiculous that is, Sirius. The only time I've ever seen you truly angry was when you fought with him two years ago and you had every right to be upset with what he said to you."

He sighed and rested his head on top of mine for a moment, not acknowledging the fight he had had with James.

"I'm getting too sensitive in my old age," he mumbled, making me smile.

"I certainly hope not; you're going to have to chase the boys away from Alianna soon," I answered with a light laugh.

"I'm more worried about chasing the boys away from Kailey at the moment. Snape would never forgive me if I let her date somebody while she was under our watch."

"Since when did you care about how Severus felt about you?" I asked suspiciously.

"Since he teaches my oldest daughter," he answered matter-of-factly. "And my godson and he'll teach Aradia in another eleven years."

I rolled my eyes. "As if Kailey doesn't already bug him about how he treats Harry. Did I tell you what he told me the other night at dinner?"

"The night when you didn't save me a seat and I had to sit next to the woman who is incapable of calling me 'Auror' to my face? No you never did."

"Well, he told me that she's already stopped both Neville and Harry from botching up their potions," I replied, ignoring his annoyed sarcasm. "I think he was gloating, actually. He said she's got the highest grade in potions so far out of any year. Course, then I asked about Hermione and he started talking about something else entirely," I chuckled, shaking my head. "I have a feeling he's giving her extra credit for fixing the potions without her knowing about it."

"Is that even allowed?" Sirius asked, sounding surprised.

"It isn't as though anyone is going to ever find out; you know he wouldn't admit to anything like that."

"Too right, he wouldn't," he agreed, giving me a tighter hug for a moment before releasing me. "I'd better go and write up that fight; Dumbledore wants a record of anything of the sort. He wants which years and which houses, but Merlin knows most if not all of the fights are Slytherin versus one of the other three."

"Not true, some fights are in-house."

He smirked at me and shook his head. "Tell me when you hear of one; it'll be a first."

* * *

_Kailey's Point of View: _

I did try to stop myself, really, I did. I ignored him when he made cracks about how I only wanted to give myself a scar bigger than the one Harry had. I ignored him when he said I was a waste of magic. I even helped hold Harry back when he insinuated that Cedric had had his death coming to him. But when Draco Malfoy said I was such a worthless piece of muddy half-blood that my own muggle mother hated me, that was when I snapped.

"MS. SNAPE!"

I didn't flinch as I stood with my wand aimed at Malfoy's head, just outside of the Great Hall where lunch was being served. Malfoy lay on the ground covered in ash and holding his lightly bleeding arm close to him, staring up at me in a combination of fury and horror. I was panting with anger. I had only had time for two spells, though my reductor curse had collided with something of his which had caused the explosion of ash and alerted the teachers to our duel. The second was my disarming spell, which had hit him hard enough to break his arm when he tried to hang onto his wand, at least according to the loud cracking noise and his cry of pain.

"Lower your wand," Umbridge ordered, not bothering with her sugary coated kindergarten voice.

I did so, relaxing my stance and removing my glare from Malfoy to stare at the squat woman in front of me. She crossed her arms and did her little cough, shaking her head as she did so.

"I think a good twenty-five points from Gryffindor along with two nights worth of detention will do you some good, Ms. Snape," she stated before raising her voice slightly. "Wouldn't you agree, Headmaster?"

I didn't let myself gulp as I looked beyond her to see that the other teachers had gathered behind Umbridge. Sirius was shaking his head at me in disappointment while Snape was giving me one of his signature glares. Keena and McGonagall, on the other hand, exchanged somewhat nervous glances.

I turned my gaze back to Dumbledore, waiting for him to say something as other students gathered around and began whispering.

"I believe you are right, Professor Umbridge," he stated calmly. "Ms. Snape, you shall accompany Auror Black in—"

"Hem hem."

The whispering halted as Umbridge interrupted the headmaster again.

"I do believe, Headmaster, that Mr. Black was not the one who called off this fight."

"Auror Black handles such detentions so that the teachers may focus better on the students' school work," Dumbledore replied, placing delicate emphasis on Sirius' title.

"Even so, I wouldn't want _Auror_ Black to be too harsh with the girl; she does spend holidays with him and his family does she not?" no one corrected her. "And he seemed quite angry just this morning after giving several other students detention. I would not want to overwork the man. Besides, I have plenty of time to spare," she punctuated her sentence with a girly giggle.

I felt my mouth go slightly dry as Dumbledore nodded his agreement. I noticed behind him that Snape's glare had softened, though it had moved from my face to the back of Dumbledore's head. That alone gave me some gratification.

"Very good then, Ms. Snape, come to my office at five o'clock both this evening as well as the next," and with a nod to herself, Umbridge turned around and marched back into the Great Hall, most of the other teachers and students following at a distance.

"Crabbe, Goyle, escort Mr. Malfoy to the infirmary. Ms. Snape, come with me," Snape growled and I had the sense to cower slightly under his glare.

A few of the other students gave me pitying looks and when I looked back to Harry, Ron and Hermione, it was to see that they looked as though they were thinking of following. I shook my head slightly at them and Hermione nodded, dragging the boys into the hall with her.

Snape led me to his quarters and soon I was sitting on the sleek, black leather couch in his living room as he put up a silencing charm. Not that he needed the cover to yell at me.

"What were you thinking? Fighting outside of the Great Hall? What if your curse had gone through? You could have killed him!" he raged, towering in front of me. "I thought you were going to avoid detention with the DADA professor, not plunge into it! I am disappointed with you, Kailey!"

I flinched at his words.

A heavy silence fell between us and I heard the leather of his favorite chair squeal slightly as he took a seat. But I couldn't look up at him, feelings of shame bringing tears to my eyes.

"What did Malfoy say to you?"

It wasn't a request; it was an order.

"That…mom hated me for being a worthless _muddy_ half-blood…" I trailed off in a whisper, raising a hand to swipe away a tear before it fell. "I'm sorry."

"Not for the fight," he suggested.

"No, for being a disappointment," I replied in confirmation.

I heard him sigh heavily while I continued staring at the carpet at my feet. It wasn't worth defending myself if it would lead to disappointing the only parent who actually cared for me.

"You are not a disappointment," he stated quietly. "You're actions today are what have disappointed me. And now you shall have to endure two detentions with Umbridge."

I nodded slowly.

"I'm giving fifteen points to Gryffindor."

My head snapped up and I looked at him in complete confusion.

"For having the knowledge and skill needed to correct other students' mistakes in the Potions lab. You thought I failed to notice?" he smirked at me.

"Hoped is a better word for it," I mumbled, unable to hide a relieved smile that he was not as angry with me as he could have been. "Did you see me?"

He smirked at me and shook his head.

"It was the only explanation for Longbottom's potion being worth an A," he replied.

"Not an O?" I asked, affronted.

"Let's not pretend he knocked the beetle juice into the cauldron."

That night I made my way to the Defense room for the first of my two detentions. With a fool's hope, I had decided to bring my own ink and quill, and even my own parchment, just in case she had me write lines.

I sucked in a deep breath as I arrived before knocking on her office door.

"Come in," she called quietly and I gently pushed the door open. "Ah, Ms. Snape, right on time I see."

I sincerely hoped she realized her girly mannerisms were not fooling anybody.

"You may take a seat right there," she ordered, gesturing to a rickety old desk that had a doily perched on top of it.

I did as I was told and waited patiently for her to continue.

"Now, tonight you will be doing lines for me."

I bent over to grab my things but froze as she coughed.

"I have a special quill for you to use, my dear," she simpered, standing and coming around her desk. She placed the spiky black quill along with a sheet of parchment in front of me.

I bit my lip and looked up at her. "Shall I use my own ink, Professor?" I asked quietly.

"Oh, you won't be needing any of that, dear," she giggled before sobering herself. "I should like you to write 'I must not use magic'."

I blinked at her for a moment before nodding. "Yes Professor," I added when she continued to stare at me.

I lifted the quill, gingerly touching it to the parchment. Withholding a shudder, I wrote out the first two words as quickly as I could. The pain was different from the hot flashing pain that had resulted in the scar on my face or the bite marks on my left arm. It was sharper in some ways, but far less painful in others. I wrote the rest of the sentence before quickly continuing onto the next line.

It went on for hours, I was certain. The sun had set long before and the skin on the back of my hand was taking slightly more time to heal. When I reached the end of the parchment, she handed me another sheet. I continued to write quickly, hoping that I could write fast enough that the wound would not have time to heal so that she would be satisfied.

Finally, after five feet of parchment, she asked me to pause.

"Hand," she requested, taking it in hers when I offered.

I focused on breathing slowly as she ran a stubby finger over the words that were reddened on the back of my hand.

"You seem to be quite the fast learner, Ms. Snape. I think by tomorrow we should have made an impression on you," she smiled, a strange glint in her eye. "You may go."

"Good night, Professor," I forced out before turning, grabbing my bag and exiting the room, managing to resist sprinting more than half-way to the common room.

* * *

_Keena's Point of View: _

"You know, don't tell him I told you this, but you and George seem to have picked this up faster than Bill," I informed Fred as I helped him to his feet.

The twins, along with at least half of the seventh years and a quarter of the fifth years, were crowded in my classroom. Even though we were only two weeks into the school year, at least half of each year had come to my classroom to practice defense. I had the seventh years working on sixth year non-verbal spells at the moment while the fifth years struggled to produce a reductor curse; they were aiming at large blocks of soft wood, enclosed in shields. Kailey had decided to go and catch up on other homework instead.

Umbridge, as far as I was concerned, had severed all ties with me one morning during the first week when she called the baby an 'ugly little thing' after Aradia had began crying simply due to the close proximity of the pink toad.

I shook myself away from the maddening thoughts and forced myself to focus on the students. George had just successfully knocked Fred flat onto his back, though he had been trying to turn his twin's hair bright blue. Still, magic had been performed.

Fred gave me a slightly disbelieving look.

"Hey, magic is magic and I can't tell you how many times I've said that non-verbal sixth year magic is harder to learn. Some students can't even manage a puff of smoke when they first start trying these spells."

He shook his head at me and turned back to his brother. Meanwhile a muffled explosion sounded from the other side of the room. Everyone froze as we turned to see the inside of Seamus' shield was full of dark gray smoke. With a wave of my wand, the shield disappeared and the smoke dissipated revealing an ash covered Seamus and a pile of burnt wood.

"Did it work?" he asked through a cough.

Before I could answer there was a loud knock on the door. I straightened up in time for the door to bang open, revealing an angry looking Umbridge. The students seemed to freeze up, all except for Fred and George, who returned to practicing non-verbals only now they were aiming at a pair of chairs. Within a moment, the rest of the room returned to practicing either a bit of charms or transfiguration, with the exception of Seamus.

"What on earth is going on here, Professor Black?" Umbridge demanded, striding up to stand between Seamus and me.

"The fifth years are practicing for their Transfiguration OWLs while the seventh years are preparing for their Charms NEWTs," I replied smoothly. "Mr. Finnigan, what did we just finish speaking of?"

"Pronunciation, Professor," he replied truthfully, though his eyes flickered to Umbridge for a moment.

"Exactly, now remember the incantation needs to match up to the wand movements and you'll be Vanishing things in no time at all," I said with an encouraging nod before fixing the block of wood and setting up his shield again. "Was there something you needed, Professor Umbridge?"

She glared at me, dropping her sweet girly act in a heartbeat.

"I am revoking your tutoring rights. You may only assist certain students at scheduled times and only with teacher approval."

The students in the room all froze, even those still within the shields, and stared between the two of us.

"With all due respect, _Professor_," I couldn't stop from sneering the title. "You have absolutely no authority over who I help and when. I only work within my office hours and I only help those who need it."

She opened her mouth to argue back when a cry sounded from within my office. Angelina Johnson cleared her throat quietly and nodded at me before heading into my office to see that the baby was alright.

"You may not tutor in Defense Against the Dark Arts any longer," she said with finality in her words. "And I would be very careful if I were you; there's talk in the Ministry going round that parents may not like it if there is a…distraction to two of the staff members."

I made no reply as I glared at the squat woman in front of me. Thankfully, she had nothing more to say and she swept out of the room, slamming the door behind her and renewing the cries of the baby. I pinched the bridge of my nose for a moment before looking around the room to see the students all staring.

"Professor?"

"Apparently someone did not get the memo that the Defense tutoring needed to be kept under wraps. I will speak with Professor Dumbledore but until then…" I trailed off as my eyes rested on Neville. I had never seen him looked so angry.

I shook my head and turned to face Angelina, who was cradling Aradia. I accepted my baby from her arms with a nod of thanks.

"It's alright, Professor," Padma Patil said softly.

"We'll figure something out," her twin echoed.

One by one, the seventh years lowered the shields for the fifth years and they all left quietly until only Hermione remained. She hesitated for a moment before coming forward.

"Do you really think she can do this?" she asked quietly.

"There isn't much else I can do. Her next move is to get me out of the castle completely and then where would all of you be?" I sighed, shaking my head in disappointment.

* * *

_Kailey's Point of View: _

"You know what Ron? I think Percy's view of exciting news and our views on exciting news are probably _wicked_ different sets of views," I stated after a glance at the morning's _Daily Prophet_.

"What the bloody hell is a high inquisitor, anyway?" Ron asked after sparing me an eye roll.

"One leg up from professor, half a leg down from headmaster," I replied with a shake of my head. "And likely higher up than Sirius and Keena too."

"Judging by the look on Keena's face I'd say so," Fred said, leaning into our conversation.

Several of us looked around to see that Keena did indeed look particularly livid. It was a good thing that Umbridge was not sitting within hexing range that much was certain.

"Foolish toad, getting on the wrong side of an angry hormonal momma bear," George added, shaking his head.

Word of Keena and Umbridge's argument had spread around the school like wildfire. Judging by the talk going round in the girl's lavatories, most were siding with Keena even if only because they thought that Aradia was adorable. Even the majority of the Slytherins seemed to think the lack of magic in DADA was outrageous.

I sighed and rubbed the back of my hand. The writing was just a faded scar that you couldn't see right away but once you did, it was all you could look at. Or maybe that was just me. I still hadn't told the others what she had made me do those two detentions and luckily Harry hadn't served any yet, but I had a feeling it was only a matter of time.

In Potions that day I managed to get a seat between Neville and Ron. After a few carefully timed coughs, Neville got himself to calm down enough to really concentrate. I glanced at Ron on my other side and bumped his arm just in time to force him to stir in the proper direction. I gave him a slight nod when he smiled at me in thanks. Their potions weren't perfect, but they were acceptable.

From Potions, we went to lunch where we verbally spared with the twins about grades. Well, Hermione and I did. Harry and Ron had tuned them out in favor of discussing something about their latest Quidditch practice. Apparently it had gone decently.

Before long, the boys and I had said goodbye to Hermione and were heading up the stairs to Divination. We entered the stifling room to see that it would be our first inspected lesson. I contained an annoyed sigh at the sight of the pink blob before following Ron and Harry over to a table in the back of the room.

Trelawney was milling around the room, looking far less earthy and much more disgruntled than I remembered ever seeing her. She paused as she reached our table for a moment and stared at me.

"Ms. Snape, your aura…it seems blue today."

I blinked at her in brief confusion for a moment before she swept away and began the class, halting all chatter.

"Today we shall be continuing our study of dreams. Please divide into pairs and interpret one another's nighttime visions. You may use the aid of the _Oracle_ to guide you."

_Blue…blue…what does that mean…blue…? _

I barely registered that Neville had come forward and I had agreed to be his partner as I wondered over what Trelawney could possibly be talking about. It wasn't as out of the ordinary as it should have seemed. Why was blue so important?

"I haven't had any dreams lately," Neville mumbled glancing over his shoulder at Umbridge who was scribbling on her clipboard.

"Oh," I said shortly, jerking myself out of my thoughts before they veered to my latest nightmare. "I…uh…had one. I guess."

Neville straightened up slightly, waiting for me to continue and holding his book at the ready but Trelawney approached us just then.

"I am sensing a great reluctance from you Ms. Snape," Trelawney stated grandly.

Umbridge sat up primly at the declaration before coming to stand behind the other professor.

"I don't generally have good dreams, Professor," I replied deciding to help Trelawney. Between the two, I hated Umbridge more.

"Yes, I can See that. Perhaps you would share with the class one such night vision?"

_Kudos to you, picking the one student who you _know_ knows the future…too bad I'm shouldn't actually _say_ anything about it…_

"Well I did have one that was neither good nor bad, really," I stalled, hoping to think of something good off the cuff. "I don't know the how or the why even but…it was both very clear and very cloudy at the same moment. It was some kind of celebration I think. There were fireworks and two boys on broom inside of the Great Hall. I couldn't make out their faces, but all of the students were cheering and even Peeves seemed to be behaving."

"And the teachers were simply allowing all of this to take place?" Umbridge simpered with a shake of her head. "Magic in the halls?"

I stiffened and her smile widened.

"It's what I Saw, sorry if it does not comply with your notion of what is and is not acceptable. But I do think I Saw something blue too," I added, suddenly understanding what Trelawney had been on about. Last year I had fantasized about turning Umbridge blue.

Trelawney grinned to herself, though it quickly faded as Umbridge began to interrogate her.

"What the bloody hell was that nonsense?" Ron demanded once the two professors had migrated a little further away from us.

Harry and Neville leaned in to listen but all I did was shrug.

"Improvisation?"

Neville snorted, shaking his head and opening his book while Harry and Ron stared at me a little longer. I shrugged again and turned back to Neville.

Class ended with no more interruptions, thankfully, and soon we were heading down to another exciting DADA class. Umbridge had barely given the order for silence when Hermione's hand went flying into the air. Unfortunately, Ron and Harry were sitting between the two of us and I had no way of getting her attention before Umbridge made her way over.

The class watched in curiosity. No doubt people were wondering what would happen now that Keena was not here to intercept our questions.

"What is the problem this time Ms. Granger?"

"I've already finished chapter two," Hermione stated, a slight edge to her tone.

"Well, then, you may continue onto chapter—"

"I've already finished the entire book," she said, not waiting for Umbridge to finish.

There was a slight pause and then Umbridge quizzed Hermione on some of Slinkhard's opinions about counter jinxes. The description she gave and her opinion on the matter made me think that Hermione may have read the book more than once at this point.

"But I don't agree with him," she finished as I tuned into the conversation again.

"You don't?" Umbridge repeated slowly, her eyes narrowing.

"No, I don't. He doesn't seem to like jinxes, does he? But if you use them defensively I think they can be quite useful," Hermione answered matter-of-factly.

"Well, Ms. Granger, it is not your opinion that matters in this classroom," she said, raising her voice when Hermione tried to interrupt. "Enough of this! Five points from Gryffindor."

There was a mere heartbeat of silence.

"What for?" Harry blurted out, starting off the angry murmurs.

Hermione made shushing noises, but Umbridge had already targeted him.

"For disrupting this classroom! I am here in order to make sure a Ministry approved method is used in these classrooms. Your foundation in Defense Against the Dark Arts leaves much to be desired and I firmly believe that not one of your past teachers would have passed inspections. Well, with the possible exception of Quirrell who at least appeared to have an idea as to how to teach properly—"

"Oh, yeah, Quirrell was great," Harry snarled, his voice loaded with sarcasm. "There was just the problem of having Voldemort stuck to the back of his head!"

I closed my eyes and shook my head as the silence enveloped the classroom.

* * *

_Keena's Point of View: _

I rubbed my temples as I listened to Sirius pacing behind my desk. Harry sat before us, having been sent by McGonagall, bearing the news of his weeklong detention with Umbridge.

"Do you at least understand why we're so angry?" I asked finally, looking up at Harry to find that he was staring at the floor. Sirius' footsteps paused behind me as Harry gave a half shrug.

"Answer your aunt."

"I understand," he answered, though he didn't sound like he meant it.

"Harry, Dolores Umbridge is already fighting to get rid of Sirius and me. Don't make it any easier for her to do."

He looked up at me then, confusion clouding his eyes.

"How is my getting detention going to get you kicked out?" he asked bluntly.

"She'll claim we're addling your brain by allowing you to talk about Voldemort. Or at the very least that we're not being attentive guardians," Sirius replied, coming to place both hands on the back of my chair. "She's already interrogated your cousin about how the two of us do as parents; don't think that she isn't watching both you and Kailey more carefully because of your association with us. Or vice versa."

"We all have to be careful. They can't take Alianna or Aradia from us, but you they can."

He was quiet for a few minutes and I exchanged a look with Sirius.

"Do they know about this? Back at home, I mean."

"Not yet, but you bet they will," Sirius answered firmly.

Harry just nodded.

"Don't think that Severus went any easier on Kailey when she got her detention," I warned.

He nodded again and then sighed.

"Can I go and start my homework? I don't think I'll have much time to get it done with the rest of the week and Hermione isn't helping Ron or me at all anymore and Kailey only helps out in potions."

I sighed before nodding. "Just try and keep yourself out of trouble. You're better off just not speaking to Umbridge at all."

"Fine, I'm sorry," he said, standing and shouldering his book bag. "I'll see you two later."

Once the door to my office closed behind him, Sirius threw up a silencing spell before taking a seat on my desk and running a hand over his face. I shook my head and sighed again.

"This won't be the last one he gets with her, you know," Sirius stated.

"Yeah, I know. He's got too much of James in him for that."

**That's the end of this one! Sorry that it took me so long to get through! Next will be chapter 11! Until then.**

**:-D**


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven: Solutions of Sorts

**Anything recognized probably belongs to JK Rowling. **

**Please enjoy!**

_Kailey's Point of View: _

I waited up for Harry the first night of his detention. I had briefly considered warning him what her detention would entail but I had decided against it. I figured that it would only make him angrier.

It was well past midnight when the portrait creaked open. I closed my potions book with a snap and looked over at Harry, who had paused halfway through the portrait hole when he had spotted me. He looked shaken but he also looked like he was trying to contain his temper. He sighed, shook his head, and finished climbing through the portrait hole and joined me on the couch, letting his book bag to fall onto the floor in front of us.

"Hand," he commanded before I could say anything, holding his right hand in front of me, palm up.

I sighed, my shoulders sagging, as I let him take my hand in his.

"So it fades away, then," he stated, running his thumb over the faint white words inscribed on the back of my hand.

"I guess," I mumbled, flipping his hand over so that I could inspect it for myself. "How much did she have you write?" I asked, noting that even though he'd been gone for as long as I had, his cut appeared to have healed faster than mine had the first night.

"Three and a half feet," he answered, watching our hands. "Why?"

"I had to do five," I answered with a sigh. "You must write slower."

"I don't have enough room to put that on the back of my hand along with my need to not tell lies," he answered with a teasing smile.

I rolled my eyes and gave him a small shove.

"Are you going to tell your godparents?" I asked after a moment.

"Did you tell your dad?" he returned after a moment of consideration.

I frowned at him then turned to look at the fire.

"It isn't as though my dad can do anything right now; he's not allowed to care."

Harry nodded beside me, taking his hand out of mine to run it through his hair.

"I don't think Sirius or Keena could do anything at this point either. Umbridge is already looking to sack the two of them and I don't want to make that any easier."

We sat in comfortable silence for a few minutes but then Harry spoke again.

"How've you been sleeping?" he kept his voice low, but the concern was obvious and I found myself wanting to lie.

"I've got silencing spells on my curtains now so the other three don't wake up," I answered after a pause. It would only make him angry if I lied. "But sometimes the nightmares don't come and sometimes they aren't bad enough to wake me up now. Have you been sleeping well?"

"Are they not bad enough to wake you up or are you just becoming desensitized?" he returned, avoiding my question.

"Both. Are you going to answer me?" I persisted, stifling a yawn at the end.

"You should go to bed," he said in response to my yawn and I frowned at him, folding my arms and settling him with a look. He sighed, rolling his eyes. "They're all the same. That corridor I told you about? And the locked doors too. What does it mean anyway?"

I smirked at him. "Why don't you ask Trelawney?"

He snorted and shook his head. "Will I ever find out?"

Now it was my turn to avoid answering.

"It's late, Harry, we really should be getting to sleep soon," I said, stretching my neck for a second as I stood up. "Sleep well."

"You too," he replied as we headed up the stairs to our respective dorms.

* * *

_Keena's Point of View: _

I paced and I paced and I paced.

One of the portraits behind me gave an annoyed cough, but I ignored him. Dumbledore continued to regard me calmly, his hands still clasped together on top of his desk. Fawkes had retreated back to his perch the moment I had stood up to begin my pacing and was preening, having gotten bored of watching me.

Finally I stopped and ran a hand across my face.

"Are we certain?"

"Severus confirmed it just last night with Lucius Malfoy."

I nodded, beginning to pace once more.

"What can we do?"

"They will have to remain where they are for the time being."

I shook my head.

"You know he won't do that, not when he thinks he knows where to find another item; he's too stubborn," I replied, pausing to slump down into a chair. Fawkes looked up and gave a soft cry before flying over and landing on my knee once more.

"I already know of the locations to the final items; he will not go without checking with me first."

"He will if he thinks you're wrong," I stated, my hand lifting to stroke the phoenix automatically.

"Kailey has yet to be wrong."

I narrowed my eyes at the headmaster, but sighed and shook my head again.

"You place too much stock in her knowledge. She won't trust you so blindly for much longer."

He gave me a tired smile. "Ms. Snape has much of her father in her; I doubt very much that she trusts in anyone blindly. But I believe we have gotten off topic."

"We have," I agreed with a slight nod. "They should come out of hiding before he forces them out."

"I cannot force them to do anything and I believe you have already tried along with your husband. In fact, where is he? I did not think he had duty tonight," he asked politely, giving his beard a stroke as his eyes flicked towards the door as though expecting Sirius to burst in at any moment.

"He didn't want to lose the time with Aradia and you didn't make this meeting sound like it was going to be anything terribly serious when you flooed," I replied with a shrug when a thought struck me. "Are the fires being watched here?"

"With the exception of my own, yes," he confirmed with a nod.

I sighed and shook my head. Hogwarts was falling apart before my eyes.

"Then Remus will need to be careful about when and how he speaks with us. This is ridiculous, Dumbledore. Can't you fire her for something? I'll take over Defense courses again if I have to."

"No, I do not want you or Sirius taking over that post. That curse is more dangerous now than it was when you or even Remus had the job. I'm continually denying Severus as well," he added as I opened my mouth to point it out.

"Fine, is there any more bad news I should be aware of?" I asked, deciding to drop the topic for now.

"Dolores has requested that you no longer tutor the students in Defense, though the portraits have informed me that you already know of this development."

I rolled my eyes and the headmaster nodded.

"I figured I'd just continue trying to get through to them without her knowing."

"No, Keena, you may not do so. The students need you here as do your husband, older daughter and nephew. I am going to promote you to both tutor and guidance counselor so that students will be free to go to you whenever they feel the need, but you may not help them with Defense until I can be sure that you will not be penalized."

"This school is becoming too political for my tastes, Dumbledore," I said after a moment, shaking my head. "Are you going to announce this to the students or just have notices put up on the common room boards?"

"I think that the common room boards will give her less time to take action against us, don't you?" he replied lightly. "And I was under the impression that many students went to you for this sort of thing already in any case."

"Eloise Midgen certainly does and Neville Longbottom has on occasion. Half the Ravenclaws I help are under stress from Ravenclaw alumni parents and the same goes for the few Slytherins who come to see me. And you should have seen my office last year just before the Yule Ball," I listed, shuddering slightly as I remembered the overflowing waste baskets full of tissues.

Dumbledore chuckled. "Yes, but I believe that this will be good for them as well. You do well with both Alianna and Harry, I'm sure that you can help other students as well. Though, I will admit that their needs will probably be very different."

I let out a short laugh. "I'd almost rather deal with normal teenage problems than the things I have to watch Harry for. Give me a kid with homework trouble or an unrequited crush any day of the week, sir."

"So I will assume your acceptance then," he said after another chuckle. I nodded and he beamed at me. "Very good. Oh, and Remus wished for me to let you and Sirius know that this month's full moon was a success."

"Finally, some fantastic news," I smiled.

* * *

_Kailey's Point of View: _

"Something's up," Hermione whispered at breakfast the next morning.

The three of us looked at her expectantly but she was staring at the teachers' table. Almost as one, we turned to glance up at the table. Sirius and Keena had their heads bent together and were discussing something excitedly.

"Huh, wonder what it could be," I mumbled, not missing the look Ron and Harry exchanged. "What?"

"Well," Harry began. "If you don't know about it then it's probably something good."

I frowned at him. "Are you insinuating I don't know when good things will happen?"

But Ron was the one who answered me.

"To be honest, when was the last time you knew about something good that was going to happen?" he asked fairly. "Or when the next good thing will come?"

"First year I knew you'd all become friends. And that Harry would make the Quidditch team. And that we'd get the stone in time. Oh, and then second year I knew you'd get to Ginny as well. Then third year I knew Sirius was innocent and that we'd win the Quidditch cup. Last year…well, there was the world cup, which was fun. And…well, I knew Harry would win the tournament, which is good, right?" I finished weakly.

The two of them gave me doubtful looks.

"Alright, fine, so we're in a bit of a rough patch but we've got Transfiguration soon, which should be slightly entertaining at the very least," I conceded.

"Entertaining how?" Hermione asked, leaning forward in curiosity.

But I shook my head, smiling slightly when she frowned at me in agitation.

Her agitation only seemed to grow all throughout Charms until we entered McGonagall's classroom later on. She gave me a confused look after glancing at Umbridge and her clip board. I gave her a small smile and a half shrug as the four of us took our seats in the middle of the classroom. Ron and Harry, meanwhile, exchanged excited grins and mutters until McGonagall swept into the room.

She marched straight to the front of the room, nose showing no signs of flaring yet, but I was sure it would happen sooner rather than later. Once she reached her desk, silence fell and she gave out orders to hand out homework and mice, totally ignoring Umbridge as she did her little cough thing.

I grinned a little at that. It was one thing to read about it, but an entirely different thing to witness it. But then Lavender placed the mouse on my desk. I stared down at it and it stared up at me.

"Hermione," I whispered as McGonagall began giving out instructions.

"What?" she muttered out of the corner of her mouth.

"Vanishing doesn't hurt the mouse…does it?"

She didn't reply but Umbridge gave another little cough and McGonagall paused in her speech. All eyes turned to Umbridge and after a quick glance around I knew that I wasn't the only one waiting to see this show down.

"I was wondering, Professor, whether or not you had received the date and time of—"

"Obviously I did or else I would have asked you why you were in my classroom," McGonagall snapped, her nose beginning to flare. "Now, as I was explaining, we shall be moving on to the vanishment of mice. Since they are mammals—"

"Hem, hem,"

McGonagall stiffened and I saw Harry and Ron exchange another excited look out of the corner of my eye. "I do wonder, Dolores, how you expect to learn anything of my teaching methods if you continue to interrupt me. You see I do not permit others to speak when I am talking."

I had to bite my lips to keep from laughing aloud, though I was not the only one who sniggered as Umbridge's jaw dropped. I was surprised, though, when she didn't croak.

After class, the four of us headed down for Care of Magical Creatures with the rest of our year of Gryffindors.

"It's about time someone put that toad in her place," Neville said, shocking the rest of us into silence. He glanced around at the rest of us. "What did I say?"

"Nothing," Hermione said hurriedly. "It's just…"

"That's something I'd expect Ron to say," Dean offered with a shrug, Lavender nodding along in agreement.

"What did she do to make you so angry?" I asked curiously.

"You weren't there with Professor Black that day Umbridge burst in," he replied, shaking his head.

"Keena did get really upset over it, I think," Harry agreed.

"Yeah, and she's helped basically the entire school at this point so…it made me angry," Neville finished simply with a shrug.

"Well at least we should be done with her until Defense," Parvati replied and the others nodded in relief.

"I wouldn't be so sure of that," I mumbled, nodding my head towards where the Slytherins, Grubbly-Plank and Umbridge were waiting.

"This could be bad," Hermione mumbled to me, watching as Umbridge tried to pull information out of Grubbly-Plank before she started milling around the class.

"I've heard there have been some injuries in the class?" she addressed to Goyle at one point.

Malfoy opened his mouth but I managed to beat him to the point.

"Injury is a strong word for it, I'd say, Professor. Madame Pomfrey was able to heal it immediately," I inserted, hoping my intervention would save Harry from another detention.

"Really now? And how would you know that, Ms. Snape?" she asked turning to face me, her quill poised over the parchment on her clip board.

"Well, we were studying hippogriffs, you see, and Professor Hagrid had warned us straight off that we needed to be on our best behavior in order to interact safely with them. But I also noticed some of the students—" I nodded my head towards Malfoy and the others "—weren't paying attention so I watched them as they interacted with one of the hippogriffs. It was too late for me to stop him from saying anything so I forced Malfoy out of the way."

"We had to press charges," Malfoy added when I failed to mention the trial.

"And the Wizengamot decided to drop them since the hippogriff was just doing the same thing any other hippogriff would have done. It was a human error, Professor, and no permanent harm was done. If anything, I think we all learned an important lesson about listening to our teachers better," I finished politely, not liking the way everyone had paused to stare at our interaction.

"Hm," she said, scribbling on the clip board again. "Well, thank you for that…illuminating story, Ms. Snape. But I think another night's detention is necessary; I was not speaking to you and it was rude for you to interrupt. You may join Mr. Potter tonight."

I managed to swallow my fury for the moment with a determined, slow breath.

"Yes Professor, my apologies."

That night Harry and I walked to Umbridge's office in a fuming silence. He was angry with me for apologizing and I was angry with him for telling Hermione and Ron why getting detention with Umbridge was such a big deal. Hermione had, predictably, gasped before scolding me for not stopping any of it until I had told her I had tried; that Snape hadn't been able to convince the other teachers that limiting detentions to certain teachers was best. Ron had gone off about how we should go straight to Dumbledore. That is, until Harry had firmly squashed that idea by saying Dumbledore had enough to deal with.

We paused as we reached her office and looked at one another.

"Why did you have to go and interrupt them for?" he grumbled after a few seconds of our staring contest.

"Firstly, to save Hagrid's image at least a little bit. And secondly, to save you from another night's detention," I replied stubbornly. "She won't get mad at Snape but she might go off on your godparents. Maybe even on Ali."

He sighed and bowed his head. "I know but…I'd rather deal with this myself than have you deal with it."

I gave him a look and he shrugged before knocking on the door, effectively ending our whispered conversation.

* * *

_Keena's Point of View: _

"I can't believe she landed herself in detention again," Sirius grumbled, pacing back and forth in front of our fire.

I sat on the couch, cradling Aradia, who had been cranky all day for some reason. She was just settling down and Sparky had looked tired so I had told her to take the rest of the night to go and do some cleaning in the kitchens. I had almost suggested a night off, but her eyes had widened in fear and her ears had begun to tremble.

"I know, Sirius, but it doesn't sound like she actually did anything wrong."

"That's why I can't believe it," he replied with a shake of his head before he came to sit beside me and the baby. "You would think she'd be a bit more subtle about her favoritism. Or lack thereof."

"Well let's think on it. According to Wilhelmina she had explained about the hippogriff incident and how it was Malfoy's fault. Not Hagrid's fault. We know that Umbridge gets on well with Lucius because of how he gets on with Fudge, whom she holds in the highest regard. We also know that she hates half-breeds."

"And hippogriffs look like half-breeds to begin with. So even if Hagrid wasn't, the creature in question was," he finished with a sigh at the end. "Why did you have to make it logical?"

"I didn't say that it was logical," I disagreed, gently pulling my hair out of Aradia's grasp and replacing it with my finger. "But at least we can trace where Umbridge's thought process is going."

He snorted before leaning over and giving Aradia a kiss on the forehead.

"What d'you suppose she'll do when that werewolf cure is released?"

"I'm hoping she rejoices."

He raised an eyebrow at me in disbelief and I deflated.

"Or at least doesn't use it as more reason to try and get rid of me. I'm still really uncomfortable with them putting my name on a potion I didn't invent…" I trailed off, gazing down at Aradia for a moment.

"They didn't say anything about putting Lily's name on it?" he asked, frowning.

"They said even though I used all of her 'old notes' I was still the one to try to make it and send it in for testing, which is ridiculous."

"Yeah, but think about it; for her to take the credit, she'd need to come out of hiding. Moldy wart would probably take advantage of that, wouldn't you say?"

I shrugged with one shoulder. "It's not as though we need to announce to the world that they actually died. Besides, if they come out of hiding first then maybe Fudge will get his act together in time for us to do something."

"Not likely, love," he replied, checking his watch before kissing the side of my head and standing up. "I'll see you when my patrol is finished."

I nodded and watched as he went out the door, shutting it with a soft snap behind him. I returned my attention to Aradia just in time to see her yawn widely. I smiled and stood up with her.

"Someday things will work out, won't they, Aradia? Uncle Remus' furry little problem is getting smaller and smaller as the full moons go by and maybe before they've all gone your Uncle James and Aunt Lily will have come out of hiding," I sighed as I pushed open the door to her nursery with one hip. I placed her in her crib and ran a finger gently down the side of her face as she yawned again. "Whatever happens though, mummy loves you," I whispered softly watching as she drifted off to sleep.

* * *

_Kailey's Point of View: _

The cut on the back of my hand was stinging painfully as I finished with the fourth sheet of parchment. I clenched my teeth together as I placed the last letter down on the parchment. I glanced over at Harry to see that he was just starting with his third sheet. I swallowed a sigh and stood up with the parchment to place it on her frilly desk.

She looked up at me as though startled to see me standing there again so quickly. But she quickly presented me with a sugary smile and looked over the parchment before holding her hand out to take a look at mine. She clucked her tongue, wiping a bit of blood off of my wrist before it could drip onto her desk.

"You may take another sheet," she said as she released my hand.

It was another hour before we left the pink office. My cut, though scabbed over, was throbbing rhythmically and I was gripping my wrist tightly, hoping that it would somehow help. I glanced at Harry's hand to see it was looking slightly more faded than mine and I couldn't contain a sigh.

"If you didn't write so quickly I doubt she'd make you do so much," he said after glancing at my hand.

But I shook my head. "I think she has me do more just because she's not giving me a full week of detentions. I can't imagine why, though."

Harry nodded slowly as we approached the Fat Lady.

"Maybe it's because of your dad," he suggested before giving the portrait the password.

I followed him through the portrait hole to find that Hermione and Ron had waited up for us. She was knitting something that resembled a hat while he was bent over some homework that he'd left for after Quidditch practice. I let the portrait close with a snap behind me and they both glanced over at us.

Hermione stood up and held out her hand towards Harry, who rolled his eyes at me before allowing her to inspect it. She shook her head and let his hand go and took mine instead.

"I can't believe you let her get away with this," she muttered as she looked at the cut on my hand. Before I could reply she let go of my hand and continued. "Come over here, I looked this up in the library. It's an essence of murtlap tentacles."

She walked back over to the couches and picked up two small bowls, each filled with a thick looking yellow liquid. I sat down beside her on the couch, accepting the bowl and gratefully placing my aching hand in the concoction with a muted sigh of relief.

"How bad was it?" Ron asked, looking up from his Astronomy chart.

"Well I don't need blood replenishing potion," I offered with a light grin.

Harry snorted while Ron rolled his eyes.

"Kailey, don't you think it would be better to tell someone? Snape would—"

"He'd blow his cover, Hermione," I hissed, shaking my head. "And even if he didn't, he wouldn't be able to do anything about it."

"McGonagall would go nuts though!" Ron argued. "And that's not even including what Sirius and Keena would do."

"Or Remus," Hermione added quietly, though the way she said it made it clear she was referring to Harry's parents as well.

Harry's jaw tightened and we all fell silent for a moment.

"I doubt Remus could do anything from where he is," he replied shortly, though he wasn't looking at any of us.

"Well, what about Dumbledore?" Ron suggested after a second's hesitation.

"No."

I thought that the conversation was going to end there as Ron and Hermione exchanged looks and Harry glared at the fire. I sighed again and lifted my hand out of the bowl only to place it back in when it throbbed mightily.

"Wish Keena could still teach us Defense," I grumbled. "If the damn job wasn't cursed I bet Dumbledore would've fired Umbridge by now."

"You know, Ron and I were just talking about that," Hermione said, eager to get the conversation flowing again.

"We were?"

"Yes," she said, rolling her eyes. "About how awful of a woman she is and how we need to get rid of her."

"I thought of poison," Ron informed me and Harry.

"I could probably whip something up in Potions," I answered thoughtfully.

"No, I meant about her teaching," Hermione interjected before Ron could start strategizing. "We need a real Defense teacher. Someone who knows what it's like."

"But we've already said that Keena can't and that means Sirius wouldn't be able to either," Harry argued, his voice and face relaxing now that his parents were no longer being mentioned.

"Yeah, but can you imagine going a whole year not learning any of these spells?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. "Not only would we absolutely _fail_ our OWLs, but my dad would make me spend another whole summer at Hogwarts doing _work_," I shuddered at the thought and Ron chuckled.

"What we need is a proper teacher," Hermione reiterated. "One with experience and who won't make it out to be glorified."

"Remus wouldn't be—"

"No, he wouldn't be able to see us often enough for it to really be effective," she agreed quickly.

"Then who?" Harry demanded as his patience waned to nothing.

Hermione glanced at me before looking back at Harry.

"You," she replied as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.

The expression of shock and disbelief on Harry's face forced a laugh out of me that I quickly turned into a cough. He didn't look at me as he glanced over at Ron, who looked speculative at the idea.

"It might work," he said aloud when Harry didn't look away.

"You're not serious," Harry replied, looking to me now, clearly expecting me to intervene.

"Don't make me make a bad pun," I answered seriously.

"But…I'm not a teacher," he said, laughing slightly.

"Think about it, though, Harry," Hermione leaned forward in excitement. "You're the best at Defense in our whole year. You could teach us what we really need to know."

Harry shook his head and I gave a mental eye roll.

"You are the best at Defense, Harry," I said as he opened his mouth. "You have the most experience with everything we could possibly need to know."

"Yeah, mate, just look at all of the things you've done," Ron agreed in a heartbeat.

"What things? I've done nothing more than—"

"First year, you got the stone from the mirror," Ron began.

"Second year, you saved Ginny from the Chamber," I added.

"Third year, you sent that patronus at the army of dementors."

"Fourth year, you got the egg from the dragon."

"And you rescued Kailey from the lake along with that girl."

"And you dueled Voldemort."

"And over the summer with that other dementor."

"But I had help with all of that!" he argued, color rising in his face. "And Kailey, you fought Voldemort for longer than I did."

"Did not, I wasn't there all that much longer than you and the only spell I used was a disarmer against that stupid snake," I replied, shaking my head.

"The point is you've done a lot of great things, Harry," Hermione interrupted before Harry could work himself up some more.

"But I didn't do any of that by myself and half the time…half the time I didn't know what was going on! Sure, it sounds brilliant when you list it out like that but it was all luck and guesswork and—"

"That's all it ever is, though," I cut him off. "Fights aren't planned out; you've got to do what's in your gut. Harry, you're good at that."

"I'm not really though," he replied heatedly. "I never did any of that by myself. All three of you helped with the stone. And Ron, you were there for most of the Chamber and when you weren't, Fawkes was. Third year was a fluke with the time-turner and if Keena and Sirius hadn't been there to fight off Remus, I wouldn't've needed to help fight the dementors off. Last year Kailey, you were with me for all of it except for the second task and even that I had help from Dobby. And then over the summer I don't know if I would've been able to handle the dementors if you hadn't needed me to."

"You would've," I replied knowingly. "It's all in your saving-people-thing."

That, apparently, was the wrong thing to say as it caused Ron to snort and Hermione to giggle while Harry stood up suddenly, the bowl of murtlap flying to the floor with a crash.

"That isn't it and you know it! You make it all sound so great but I was terrified through all of that! If even one time I hadn't had help I would be dead! You don't understand what it's like, do you? Knowing that the only thing between you and death is your own skill and that if you die other people will too?" he shouted, but I glared at him.

"You really think I don't understand what that's like? Do you think I liked watching Voldemort being so close to you? Why the hell do you think I made you leave the graveyard?" I growled out, taking care not to raise my voice. "It does sound great, Harry, because you've done great things. But quit acting like you're the only one who went through hell that night."

I stood up and took my hand out of the bowl, thrusting it towards him.

"Here, take it. I'm going to bed."

I didn't meet his eyes as he took the bowl from my hands and I nodded to Ron and Hermione before heading for the staircase. I was already regretting what I had said before I pulled the blankets up over my head.

**And so ends chapter 11! Next will be 12 and I sincerely hope you enjoyed it! Until next chapter!**

**:-D**


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve: Visits and Meetings

**I disclaim all things recognized as JK Rowling's work. **

**Sorry it took so long (and that it is so wicked long)! I hope you enjoy it!**

_Keena's Point of View:_

There was a knock on the door of my office, just after the final bell rang signifying the end of lessons for the week. And what a week it had been. Aradia hadn't slept more than three hours at a time during each night because she was hungry, wet or just wanted to be held by me or Sirius. Harry and Kailey were perceptibly in some sort of argument, though neither seemed angry so much as embarrassed. Harry hadn't come to Sirius or me yet so neither of us really knew what was going on.

Umbridge had finally figured out about my promotion and had tried to fight it immediately but the story that ran in the _Prophet_ backfired on her. Parents, it seemed, were quite happy with the idea that their students had a third party adult to place their trust in. As a result, she hadn't spoken one word that night at dinner.

Alianna, on the other hand, had taken advantage of my promotion and used the extra hours to come and visit me in privacy. Her grades were only comparable to Hermione, though she struggled slightly with Potions. She confided to me that this was because she had let slip in front of Snape last year that she thought Potions was the easiest class at Hogwarts because all you had to do was follow a set of directions. Apparently Snape didn't appreciate his "subtle art and exact science" (his words, not mine) being compared to an advanced cooking class.

Snape, however, claimed he was tormenting all of his students as regularly as ever but he reported to me that Neville, though no longer improving as dramatically, was passing with marks good enough to beat out the Weasley twins. Granted, by now every professor was aware that the twins were only at school for their seventh year in order to appease their mother.

The knock sounded again and I placed Aradia gently down in her small play pen, calling for the visitor to enter as I took a seat behind my desk.

Remus slipped inside before shutting the door softly behind him.

"Remus!" I exclaimed, getting back up and going around my desk in order to hug him. "What are you doing here? And why are you acting as though you're sneaking around?"

But even as I said it, releasing him from his hug, he raised his wand to put up a silencing spell and locked the door. Before I could begin to panic, his features shifted and I found myself standing not in front of Moony, but in front of Prongs.

"What are you doing here?" I asked again, this time in a tone of shock more than surprise.

"Can't I visit my favorite sister once in a while?" James returned with a half grin.

I rolled my eyes at him and shook my head.

"Either that Polyjuice wore off bloody quickly or you've been here longer than you thought you would be. In which case, why did you only wait until now to let me know you were here?"

"Hogwarts was my last stop of the day," he replied, shaking his head. "I've been practicing covering for Remus at his job during full moons and so that he can do more recruiting and other such activities."

Even though he was grinning as he said it, I could see the jealousy in my brother's eyes. I sighed; I _knew_ being at Grimmauld Place would make him feel caged.

"James, you know that you and Lily can come out at any time. The only thing standing in the way is yourself."

He snorted. "Right, Keena, we'd be coming out of hiding just in time to go back into it. Especially now that Voldemort knows about us."

"Except Voldemort isn't out of hiding yet himself and wouldn't you rather force him out than the other way around? Besides, think of what it would mean to Harry."

His hazel eyes softened behind his glasses and he looked away from me, gazing at some of the pictures on my desk. He lifted up one that had Harry and both of my daughters in it. Harry and Alianna were waving eagerly at the camera before looking down at Aradia occasionally as she giggled, playing with a piece of birthday wrapping paper.

"The next generation is already bigger than ours was," he muttered, placing the picture back on my desk.

"Not yet, I don't think," I disagreed quietly, thinking of the other two original Marauders. "Unless you want to count Kailey, Hermione and the Weasleys," I added after a moment.

"I think I do want to count them; at least, Kailey, Hermione and Ron," he replied thoughtfully after a moment of consideration. "They're his family at least…"

He trailed off and was quiet for a few moments before Aradia let out a frustrated cry; she wanted to be held. I walked over to the play pen and lifted her up.

"I'm sorry, baby, silly uncle James must have forgotten to say hello," I cooed, bringing her over to James, who seemed to be shaking himself out of his thoughts. "Here, James, why don't you bond with your goddaughter? I'll see if I can't find your son to say hello to you."

My search was short as I bumped into Harry and the others on their way to dinner. He seemed confused when I asked him to come with me to my office for a few minutes, but he followed just the same. His confusion only seemed to increase when I knocked gently on my door before opening it.

I let him in before me and shut the door with a tight snap behind us.

"Dad?"

Even though it came out as a question, by the time the word was out of his mouth Harry was hugging James tightly, though taking care not to squish his baby cousin. I went forward and took Aradia from her godfather, allowing him to engulf Harry in a two-armed hug.

"What are you doing here?" Harry asked when they finished their hug, taking a seat in one of the chairs in front of my desk. "Is mum here too?"

"No, it's just me today," James replied with a grin, sitting down next to his son. "I had some things to do for the you-know-what and decided to drop in on your aunt after I finished talking to Dumbledore."

"I must say, James, I'm flattered you chose to visit me over Sirius," I teased, though he grinned at me in reply.

"Oh, I'm sure Sirius will tell you about my visit tonight," he said. "Or rather, about Moony's visit."

"James Nathaniel Potter, did you get Remus in trouble with my husband?"

"So anyway, Harry, how's school?" he asked, turning away from me completely.

* * *

_Kailey's Point of View:_

The three of us entered the Great Hall discussing what Keena could possibly want to talk to Harry about. He had just shrugged to the three of us before walking away to her office with her. Hermione thought she must have figured something out about the detentions while Ron believed it had to do with the fact that they had been making up their Divination homework again.

I shook my head and smiled, glancing at the head table where Snape was sitting, grumpily stabbing his food while McGonagall seemed to be unable to stop laughing from next to him.

The three of us sat down at our table, not too far from the twins.

"Somehow I doubt that either of…those…" I trailed off as I looked up in time to see Snape walking through the doors to the Great Hall.

I frowned and looked back at the table. Snape was still sitting there, eating. My head swiveled back to the second Snape, who was now striding up to the table, his cloak billowing out behind him.

"What are you…?" Hermione trailed off as she caught sight of the second Snape, who had frozen when he had caught sight of the first one.

Slowly, the chatter in the Great Hall diminished as students began realizing there were apparently two potions masters.

"No offense, Kailey," Ron muttered quietly as the second Snape continued to blink at the first one, who was continuing to eat normally. "But isn't one of Snape more than enough?"

I didn't answer aloud, just shrugged, watching as the second Snape seemed to realize something. He shook his head and finished making his way to his seat, sitting next to the first Snape. Now that they were sitting next to one another, they didn't appear nearly so identical. It was easier to see the difference in skin tone for one thing. Their noses didn't match either, in fact the fake Snape seemed to have a larger one and his hair was grimier and longer as well.

"I wonder who did that to Auror Black," Fred muttered, though those around the two of them immediately made sounds of disbelief.

"No, honestly, we didn't do that," George added.

"Would've been a great idea," Fred lamented.

I looked back up at the head table once more and now that Sirius was sitting up and you could actually see his face, it was clearly not my dad.

Harry and Keena never arrived to dinner, though he was waiting for us in the common room when we reached it. Ron relayed to Harry the nature and mystery surrounding the prank someone had played on Sirius. Unsurprisingly, Harry found it highly amusing. What was surprising was his comment on the whole affair.

"Poor Remus, he won't know what's coming," Harry said after he'd finished laughing.

"What's Remus got to do with any of it?" Hermione asked, tilting her head to the side.

Harry glanced around to see that the rest of the common room was occupied by something before leaning towards us. The three of us leaned in towards him in response as he began to whisper.

"Keena had a visitor today," he started vaguely. "When he arrived he was Remus and when he left he was Remus again."

"Okay…" I said slowly. "Was he someone else in between?"

Harry nodded and Ron and I exchanged confused frowns but Hermione gasped in understanding.

"Did you know he was coming?"

Harry shook his head.

"Why was he here?"

"Said it had to do with stuff for Dumbledore," Harry answered, meanwhile ignoring Ron and me as we continued to stare between the two of them in slight confusion, though I had a feeling I knew who we were talking about now.

"Was she there too?" Hermione asked and the light bulb finally went off in my head.

"No, she wasn't with him, but he said maybe next time," Harry replied before hastily adding, "if there is a next time."

"Did he have any news to tell you?" I asked, leaning forward slightly in anticipation.

"No," he shook his head. "Nothing specific at least. When I asked how she and Remus were doing he only said that everybody was healthier than ever. I didn't know either of them was sick."

"As far as I know, she's fine," I said slowly. "But what about his furry little problem? Weren't they looking for a cure all those years?"

Ron and Harry exchanged looks with one another while Hermione looked speculative. She sighed and shook her head, prompting the rest of us to look at her curiously.

"The most we can do at the moment is keep an eye on the _Prophet_ I think," she said when she noticed our stares. "If it is something like that, surely it'll be reported."

* * *

_Keena's Point of View: _

Saturday morning Sirius and I decided to go to breakfast a bit later than usual, opting to take advantage of Aradia sleeping a little longer than she usually did in the mornings. The students were scattered about the Great Hall, talking together in clumps along each of the tables. I noticed each group had a copy of that morning's newspaper with them before looking down to see what Aradia was fussing over in her sling.

We reached the head table and I sat down between Sirius and Flitwick, who was hidden behind his own copy of the _Prophet_. I situated my daughter efficiently while Sirius accepted his own paper from a waiting owl.

"Anything interesting in there?" I asked, hardly paying any attention to my husband as I handed Aradia her rattle.

"You mean other than the usual slandering of Dumbledore and Harry and the rest of Hogwarts in general?" he asked, though I could hear a hint of amusement in his voice.

"Yes, other than all of that."

"Well the front page has something interesting, then," he said, laying it flat on the table for me to take a look at. "Lycanthropy Cured at Last!" he glanced at me with a smirk.

"They ran the story already? But we don't know for sure if—"

"Oh, they mention that later on," Flitwick squeaked from beside me, moving his paper aside so that we could actually see the tiny professor. "But I had no idea you were so adept in Potions, Keena."

"Oh Merlin, what's it say?" I asked, groaning and running a hand through my hair.

"_Werewolves are soon to be a thing of the past_," Sirius read aloud. "_As of this reporting, the Department of Mysteries has released a statement regarding what's being called the biggest achievement for the betterment of wizardkind since the downfall of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named fourteen years ago_."

I almost rolled my eyes. "Of course, they have to make it sound like Voldie's actually dead."

Sirius snorted before continuing. "_This new treatment for lycanthropes consists of drinking one potion which has been named the Aconite Solution. According to current research, the lycanthropes who drink it will not only regain their human minds during the full moon but they regain human bodies a twelfth of the time before moonset. Current subjects who have experienced a second full moon after the single dosage regained human bodies two twelfths of the time they normally would have before moonset. At this current rate, according to several experts, these subjects will no longer be classified as werewolves as of this coming August_."

"So they drink the potion once and after a year they aren't werewolves anymore. Why couldn't they just write it out like that?" Snape huffed, making Sirius and me jump slightly. He raised an eyebrow at our reactions. "The child didn't seem surprised at my appearance."

We all turned to look at my daughter. She was asleep. We turned back to Snape. He just shrugged, gesturing for Sirius to continue.

"_When reporters asked who would be taking the credit for this minor miracle_—"

"Not so minor for those with furry little problems," I mumbled.

"—_the Department of Mysteries revealed somewhat of a shocking admission. Newlywed Keena Black (previously Potter), aunt and godmother of the recently deranged Harry Potter, has been named the creator of this possible potions masterpiece. How this witch had time to brew a new invention between her godson's debated sanity and caring for her own two children should leave readers skeptical over how well this potion will work. Only time will tell, but for now, this reporter sees a brighter future ahead for those who have been forced to live for so long in the dead of night_."

I took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

"Well, he got a tad artful at the end, didn't he?" Flitwick suggested cheerfully. "And at least he didn't mention either of your daughters by name."

"Filius you shouldn't point out anything positive about this," I said, though I couldn't fully contain a small smile. "It makes it so much harder to be angry at this idiot of a reporter."

He chuckled at me before shaking out his paper and turning to a different story.

There were more students in the hall now and many of them were beginning to look up to the head table in curiosity. When Alianna and Samantha arrived for breakfast, many at the Ravenclaw table looked up at them with interest. No doubt they would be questioning my girl about the Aconite Solution, though that would only confuse her. At Remus' request, we had not told any of the kids about this new cure on the off chance that it didn't work. I could only hope that it would not anger any of them, particularly Harry since he would be sure to figure out it wasn't my invention, but his mother's.

I sighed aloud at the thought.

"What's wrong?" Sirius asked around a mouthful of scrambled eggs.

"Nothing," I answered as I turned to take some French toast.

Sure enough, when Harry and his friends entered the Great Hall for their own meal one of the twins detached himself from his twin and Lee Jordan to speak with the four of them for a moment. I watched as Harry's forehead creased in confusion before he turned and said something to Kailey, who shook her head before nodding in answer to his next question. Hardly a moment later, he turned to look up at the head table and caught my eye with a slight glare.

"Blimey what's Harry giving you that look for?" Sirius asked, having glanced up at the right moment just as our godson turned back to his friends.

"I have a feeling that we'll be finding out later rather than sooner."

It wasn't until the Wednesday evening before the first Hogsmeade trip of the year that Harry came to our quarters. Sirius answered the door and placed a silencing charm around the room once Harry had come inside. He didn't bother with the usual greeting of a hug or even a hello to either one of us, though he did manage a slight smile at Aradia before Sparky took her to the nursery so that we could talk without upsetting her.

Once the door shut behind them, Harry turned to face us.

"You hate potions," he stated.

"Hate is a very strong word for it," I replied lightly, carefully keeping my face straight. "I prefer to say that I have an intense dislike for it. Come to think, that might explain my inability to cook…"

Harry was not amused.

"Mum was inventing a potion over the summer."

"For the past several years, actually," I corrected in the same light tone.

"Years?" he seemed confused.

"She had to find the right ingredients first and then she had to make sure that she could make it and get the same result every time. From there she had to be sure it wouldn't poison anybody before she could figure out how to send it in for testing."

Harry frowned at me, shaking his head.

"But now you're getting all of the credit," he accused.

"Much to my chagrin, I assure you."

"The experts in charge of the testing all know that Keena didn't invent it," Sirius added before Harry could work himself up. "She told them that she had come across some of your mother's notes when we moved back to Potter Mansion."

"So why isn't my mum being recognized?"

"To send something in for testing it needs to be sent in by someone with connections to the Spell Inventions section of the Department of Mysteries. Most potions are tested by St. Mungo's but since your mum, Remus and Keena worked together in Spell Inventions they wanted to be the ones to test it all."

"That and Remus and a few other werewolves had already been a part of the original test group for the Wolfsbane Potion which was created by Damocles Belby, who happened to be employed by the Department of Mysteries at the time," I added. "I think it's a territorial thing with them, to be honest."

"But why aren't they putting her name on it?" he persisted.

"Because as far as they know I was the one to make the batch that got sent in with the instructions."

Harry sighed and shook his head while Sirius and I exchanged glances. I had a feeling that I wasn't the only one surprised by the lack of shouting that was taking place.

"So she invented this…cure for lycanthropy and she still doesn't want to come out into the open? Why are they so _afraid_?" he sounded more tired than angry as he said it, shaking his head and dropping it into his hands.

I bit my lip and looked to Sirius who sighed and rubbed his hand across the back of his neck.

"I think that they're afraid of becoming test subjects themselves," Sirius replied after a moment. "Granted, I doubt very much that that is the only thing that they're worried over."

"Then what? Are they afraid of Voldemort?" he asked in a tone that sounded like he was preparing himself for a shock.

"Of course they're afraid of Voldemort," I answered, slightly angry with the question. "He's already proved that they cannot protect you from him on several occasions. Even when they fight him directly. Your parents _died_ fighting him, Harry, and that spell is one time use only. They have a second chance to fight for you and I would bet my own life that they are terrified of failing again."

His face turned to shame as he swallowed what I was sure was guilt. He didn't say anything for the moment as he turned to stare at the fire that was quickly turning to burning coals as the flames began to pucker and die out.

"Would a letter to them get intercepted?" he asked quietly before looking up at us again. "I think it's time I start asking them about this stuff."

* * *

_Kailey's Point of View: _

I jerked awake suddenly, unaware for a few moments of the tears running down my face or the sweat that trickled down my back, focusing only on my ragged breathing. Once I had finally calmed myself enough that my breathing returned to normal, I sat up and pushed the curtains around my bed back to get a look at the clock on my bedside table. It was two hours into Saturday morning. We would be going to Hogsmeade in just another few hours time.

I leaned back down on my pillows for a moment, considering trying to fall back asleep, but the nightmare was still too fresh in my head. I sighed and stood up, stretching for a moment, before tiptoeing into the bathroom so that I could wash the sweat and tears away.

It was half past two when I entered the common room, fully dressed and mostly awake. I sat down on the couch in front of the fire, sliding my shoes off and curling myself into a ball on the couch, as was my routine whenever I had a nightmare that was bad enough to awaken me fully. Most of the time, I just woke up for a few minutes before exhaustion dragged me back down into sleep.

But this nightmare was reoccurring. And it was terrifying.

It would start out with Harry either fighting for me or freeing me from being tied up or trapped. He was always older, dirty, bloody and angry. Then he would always ask me why I had never trusted him and why I had lied to him for so long. And I would never have time to explain more than a few words because in one way or another I would suddenly be in the throes of some kind of torture, usually in conjunction with a shout of '_Crucio'_ even if there was no one there to shout it. The torture would inexplicably halt and Harry would position himself in front of me, sometimes jumping in the way and sometimes just standing there, before falling dead into my arms.

If I was lucky, the dream would end there or I would be able to wake up just as it happened. Sometimes, like tonight, I would be forced to keep watching while Death Eaters emerged from shadows or trees or even thin air before coming face to face with Voldemort's cold, hard stare.

I shook my head vigorously, trying to tear my thoughts away from the sound of Voldemort's cruel laughter in favor of thinking of something, anything else.

I ended up thinking about Harry.

He had come back from his godparents' quarters with a look of extreme determination mixed with a trace of nerves. Ron had asked what had happened but Harry had shaken his head saying that he would tell us later if he could figure out how to explain it right. He'd gone to bed far sooner than the rest of us and Hermione had immediately started speculating about what he could possibly be planning. She was certain that he was trying to figure out how to do something, though Ron and I had been skeptical.

It was perfectly possible, according to Ron and I at least, that Harry had received some news from Sirius and Keena that he needed time to digest. I was actually hoping for it; if he already knew about the prophecy then maybe I wouldn't have to intervene later on in the year.

That train of thought kept me going until around five thirty when one of the doors to the boys' dormitories creaked open before it was gently shut. I lifted my head off of the arm of the couch and looked towards the stairs, keenly aware of the dryness of my eyes.

I spotted Harry before he noticed I was even there. He was carrying a sheaf of parchment, a quill and a bottle of ink with him with such care that it was obvious he hadn't planned on actually waking up.

He paused when he reached the bottom of the stairs as he noticed me watching, though he only shook his head as he made his way over to the couches. He sat down on the couch next to me and set his things on the table in front of us.

"What are you doing up so early?" I asked after quietly making sure my throat was clear enough to get the words out.

"I was going to ask you the same thing," he replied through a yawn.

"Nightmare," I replied with a half shrug.

"Still?"

"Yours are gone?"

"Well, they aren't bad enough that I can't get back to sleep anymore," he answered slowly. "D'you want to talk about it?"

I blushed and shifted on the couch so that I was hugging my knees to my chest.

"It's alright if you—"

"It was about you," I mumbled quietly, though effectively cutting him off.

He didn't say anything or make any kind of reaction at all for a moment before he hesitantly put his arm around my shoulders, scooting closer to me in a comforting way. Instead of pulling away to see the expression on his face, I leaned against him, resting my head on his chest and releasing my legs so I could wrap my arms around him in a hug.

"How long have you been having nightmares about—like that?" he asked, not pressuring me to give any details about the content, his voice never going above a whisper.

"Middle of August," I answered, feeling the tiredness that I was sure he could hear in my voice.

"And what time did you wake up from this one?"

"Two."

I felt him nod and he began rubbing my arm in a soothing manner, not saying anything else, comforting me simply with his presence. It wasn't long before my grip around his torso slackened and my eyes refused to stay open any longer.

I woke up slowly, only dimly aware that I was still leaning against Harry on the couch closest to the fire in the common room. I blinked several times, more than content enough to stay where I was for the moment until I heard someone give a slight cough.

I peeked up from my position against Harry's chest to see that the twins had once again discovered us sleeping on the couch in the common room. They each had their arms folded and the opposite eyebrow from the other raised. I sighed and closed my eyes before gently removing myself from Harry's grip, realizing that the arm that had been between his back and the couch was asleep.

"How often exactly should we expect to see the two of you like this?" George asked after a moment of me not responding to their presence.

"I don't know," I answered, stretching my arm and yawning. "I had a nightmare and came down here about two and a half hours before Harry joined me. I don't remember if he said what he was doing up or not."

"Looks like he was going to try and get something written," Fred observed, gesturing to the parchment and ink on the table.

I shrugged. "What time is it now anyway?"

"Nine or so," George answered with his own shrug.

"How many people do you think saw us here?"

"Not many."

"It is a Saturday after all."

"But it's a Hogsmeade weekend," I reminded them.

"So maybe a couple of over-excited third years."

"But probably no more than that."

I nodded in agreement before turning to face Harry. I shook his shoulder but was not honored with a reaction. I frowned and shook harder, calling out his name as I did so. Still nothing. I looked up at the twins.

"A little help?"

They grinned at each other before taking out their wands. I just barely had time to cover my ears before they let off two enormous blasts. Harry came awake with a shout before looking between the three of us, confused as we laughed at the look that had been on his face. He looked between us for a moment more before shaking his head and smiling as he gathered up the parchment, quill and ink and heading back up to the dorm after promising to meet me in about ten minutes.

Ron and Hermione came down in time for all four of us to eat breakfast together and it wasn't long until we were all heading towards Hogsmeade.

"What time are we doing this thing again, Hermione?" I asked, feeling nervous for some bizarre reason. Perhaps it was because this would be the first time I would be leaving any sort of protection behind. Well, unless Sirius and Keena tailed us for the day which seemed incredibly likely.

"I've told everyone to meet us as soon as possible," she replied with a quick, searching glance in my direction. "So I figured we'd head straight there."

Both Ron and Harry made to turn into the Three Broomsticks as we approached it on the street, and I'll admit I wanted to turn in there too, but Hermione shook her head at us and kept walking. The boys both gave me questioning looks, but all I could do was shrug and sigh. Even if we did meet at the less conspicuous of the pubs, our large group would become suspicious simply due to the seriousness of the conversation. Besides, we'd still have to hide from Umbridge even if other clubs didn't need approval first.

"Hermione, where exactly is 'there'?" Harry asked when I failed to respond to his looks.

"The other pub, you know, the Hog's Head? I've heard it's a bit, well, strange, but students are allowed. Plus, it's not nearly as crowded as the Three Broomsticks so there's less of a chance of us being overheard by other students."

We turned down the smaller street and arrived at the tiny, battered inn. The other three glanced at each other, but I could only stare at the patch of wall just beside the door. It was stained, as was the rest of the building, but this stain made my heart pick up speed.

"Kailey, you alright?" Ron asked, but his voice sounded distant.

I gave a half nod as I took a step forward, reaching out to touch the place I had stumbled into that night in June. I hadn't realized I was bloody enough to leave such a distinct impression.

"This is where I came that night," I said quietly before any of the other three could ask. My fingers traced around the outline of where my side and arm hit the wall. "I don't know why I thought of it…" I trailed off, almost hearing the bartender's shouts in my head.

I jumped when I felt a hand on my shoulder.

Hermione took her hand away, but gave me a tight hug instead.

"I'm sorry, Kailey, if you'd like, we could have Harry and I stay here and tell everyone what's going on and you and Ron go somewhere else for a while?"

"No, that's alright," I said, shaking my head and pulling away from her. "I think I should thank the bartender anyway since I never got the chance."

We entered the dirty, grimy room, glancing around at the hooded and veiled occupants. Honestly, I felt slightly exposed compared to the these people. I shook the thought from my head as I looked around for the bartender, leading the others towards the long, dusty counter as I did so.

He came out of a back room suddenly and approached the bar. Now that I had the time to get a good look at him, his resemblance to Dumbledore was quite strong. If he hadn't been such a grumpy man, I don't doubt that the others would've caught on quickly. He gazed at us, his eyes pausing briefly over Harry's scar, before he rested his eyes on me, looking surprised.

I cleared a lump away from my throat as I looked at the man who I felt had had a large part in saving my life.

"I just…" I took a deep breath as Aberforth's confusion seemed to double. "I wanted to thank you," I finished quietly, hoping that in the quiet of the room he would be able to hear me. "For saving me, I mean."

He looked at me oddly for a moment. "I reckon you're confused, girl. All I did was call up at the school to let them know where you were."

"And you told them who to blame because I know I didn't get the chance. Without you I would have died and he would have gone free. So thank you," I answered, feeling more confident as I realized he desired no thanks. It meant he deserved it more.

He grunted out an annoyed "You're welcome," before asking us if we wanted anything.

We claimed our butterbeers and headed off to a larger table in the corner of the room, well away from the other patrons.

"Bloody cheerful bloke, eh?" Ron mumbled, nodding his head back towards Aberforth with a teasing smirk on his face. "What d'you reckon his problem is?"

"I don't know," Hermione replied, a tiny crease forming on her brow. "Kailey, do you know?"

I gave a half shrug, taking an experimental sip of butterbeer from the stained glass while trying at the same time to keep my lips from actually touching it.

"Odd," she murmured.

"How many people did you say were planning to meet us again?" Harry asked, glancing towards the door as it opened.

"A fair few," she replied after a moment.

I snorted and she glared at me. I nodded towards the door where loud chatter was now audible. Students were now pouring into the pub and Aberforth looked nonplussed at the influx of customers. I doubted very much that he had ever had so many patrons in one day.

The mob came inside and Fred and George took the lead as they ordered thirty-one butterbeers.

"That is not a 'fair few,' Hermione," Harry sounded as though he were about to choke on the words. "A fair few is maybe five or six," he hissed as the crowd headed over to our table, heaving chairs along with them.

Alianna claimed the seat on my other side, giving me a quick hug as she sat down. Lizzie and Samantha took seats close to Alianna while Lizzie's older brother, Justin, sat as far from Lizzie as he possibly could. Ginny was sitting between DJ (who was holding hands with Alexis beside him) and Terry Boot, who waved to Lizzie briefly before he turned back to talking to Anthony Goldstein and Michael Corner. Luna came over with Neville and wedged herself closer to Alianna, leaning in to whisper something in her ear which made the younger girl giggle and whisper back. I looked around again and spotted Cho, though she wasn't paying any attention to her friend as she stared at Harry, who was still hissing under his breath at Hermione. Behind her were Lavender, Padma and Parvati who were chatting with Dean. Beside them Zacharias Smith was looking around with skepticism plain on his face, ignoring Ernie Macmillan who seemed to be having an earnest conversation with the other three Hufflepuffs surrounding him. My eyes travelled over to the Weasley twins and Lee Jordan as they suddenly laughed uproariously while the Gryffindor chasers beside them rolled their eyes collectively, while the Creevey boys seemed to be hanging onto their every word.

I sighed and shook my head, leaning past Harry to get Hermione's attention.

"I think it's time we get this show on the road," I muttered, giving her a look.

As I said it, the chatter finally died out and all eyes were upon Harry, who shifted uncomfortably beside me.

Hermione cleared her throat, not seeming to know quite where to begin.

"We—well, er, we all know why we're here, Harry thought—" she cut herself off at the look Harry threw at her. "I mean…er, I thought it would be a good idea if…well, if all the people who wanted to—to study Defense Against the Dark Arts and not that rubbish that Umbridge tries to teach us because honestly, who could call that studying or even learning about true Defense—" her voice seemed to grow in power as several from the crowd muttered their approval. "I thought it would be good if we took matters into our own hands," she finished confidently.

She glanced at Harry, though he only stared at her as steadily as everyone else. Perhaps more so since he wasn't glancing at someone else every five seconds.

"By which I mean teaching ourselves the actual spells, not just the theory."

"And passing your OWL hasn't got anything to do with it?" Michael Corner called out with a smirk.

Hermione paused before replying as the door to the pub opened. A few of us glanced over to see two veiled witches enter the pub. They didn't spare any of us a look as they paid for their drinks, but we all leaned in closer together regardless.

"Well, yes, of course I want to pass it. But it isn't just about passing some test," looks of surprise flitted around the room at Hermione's flippant description of the OWLs. "It's about being able to properly defend yourself because…because Voldemort is back."

Predictably, shudders swept across our group in a wave, though the kids who already had parents in the Order were a little bit better about suppressing them than the others. Zacharias Smith snorted, drawing attention to himself as people looked at him with reactions varying from confusion or surprise (the Creevey brothers in particular) all the way through to anger (Ron's ears were probably going to be glowing for a little while).

"Something you wish to ask about our study group?" I asked, raising an eyebrow and consciously trying to ignore the attention of the other thirty-one.

"Where's the proof?" he asked, leaning forward with a slight glare in place.

"I thought it was rather obvious that there was going to be a study group forming seeing as there are thirty-six people here."

"Not about that, I'm talking about You-Know-Who. That proof," he said heatedly as a few of the Gryffindors snickered at my reply.

"Is Dumbledore's word not good enough for you?" I challenged, cutting Hermione off as she opened her mouth.

"It isn't his word; it's the two of you. And if _he's_ going to be teaching us I think we all have the right to know what exactly makes you both say that he's back."

"Who are you, then?" Ron cut in angrily, looking Smith up and down.

"Zacharias Smith," he replied, lifting his head slightly as if in challenge.

"Look this meeting isn't supposed to be about Voldemort—" the shudders fluttered around the group once more. "—it's about who is interested in learning Defense properly and with—"

"You know what, Hermione? It's alright," Harry interrupted and all eyes were upon him once more. "You want to know what makes us say Voldemort is back, yeah? We saw him, fought against him and then escaped from him. Dumbledore told you what you needed to know and I'm not about to waste a Hogsmeade afternoon trying to convince you of what happened."

"Dumbledore didn't tell us anything in detail only that Diggory had been murdered and you'd both somehow gotten out alive. He didn't even mention You-Know-Who until the leaving feast, so how is any of this believable?"

"Would you like an exact, detailed description of what went on that night?" I asked, leaning forward in challenge. My eyes narrowed as he nodded. "Fine. Let me ask you what it is that dementor's make you see and hear and feel."

He shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

"Do they ever knock you out?"

He looked away.

"I didn't think so. If you're wondering what it's like when Voldemort murders a person, I'm not sorry to say that I can't help you."

"We don't want to talk about Cedric Diggory, so if that's all you've come here for you'd do better to just leave," Harry added with a tone of finality as he gazed around, waiting for someone to make a move. No one did.

He gave Hermione another look and she cleared her throat again.

"Right, so, as I was saying if you want to learn some actual defense we need to work out times and a place to meet and how often we're—"

"Can you really produce a Patronus?" a Hufflepuff girl burst out from her seat next to Ernie Macmillan.

Harry looked surprised by the question.

"Yeah…?"

"A truly corporeal one?"

He narrowed his eyes at her.

"You're Amelia Bones' niece, right?" I asked, remembering suddenly.

Susan smiled, clearly pleased that I had made the connection.

Suddenly it was as though a switch had turned and everyone who had ever heard of Harry doing anything remotely interesting had a story they wanted confirmed. The troll incident came up twice, the basilisk was talked over by at least three different people and when Cho brought up the second task and Harry's double rescue it seemed Harry could take no more.

"Look, it sounds great like that, but I had loads of help—"

"Are you trying to say you can't really do any of it?" Smith shot out, gaining a threat from the twins and a look of utter loathing from the other two Weasleys present.

"Well, if we're all agreed then," Hermione said firmly, trying to bring the tension down some. "When and where shall we do this?"

"Well it can't interfere with Quidditch; most of my team is here," Angelina stated firmly. "Only our catcher is missing."

"Thank Merlin," Harry muttered under his breath.

I looked at him in curiosity; the Gryffindor catcher had left Hogwarts the same year as Wood. "Who is it now?" I whispered.

"It's Seamus," he replied just in time for us to hear other protests.

"It can't interfere with ours either!" Cho added quickly.

"Or ours!" Smith said importantly.

"Alright, alright, we'll work around the practices. But where can we do this?" Hermione pressed, clearly trying to make certain Smith couldn't get another word in.

Everyone was silent.

"Library?" Katie offered hopefully.

"Pince would throw a fit," Dean pointed out.

"What about Professor Black's classroom?" Neville suggested.

"But that could get her fired," Alianna replied worriedly.

"She's a tutor; she's supposed to help students with these things," Anthony argued in confusion. "How could it get her fired?"

"Umbridge forbid her from helping any of us with Defense," Alicia answered sadly.

"I'm sure we can think of somewhere to do it by the time we can schedule our first meeting," I said after a moment of aggravated silence. "Is there anything else we need to do, Hermione?"

* * *

_Keena's Point of View: _

We waited for the band of students to leave the pub before rising from our seats, careful to keep our faces completely concealed. I dropped a few coins on the counter, nodding to the barman, before we headed outside and apparated to the back of the Three Broomsticks. I removed the veils, vanishing them away with a flick of my wand before lowering my hood and giving a blonde-haired Lily a long look.

"We should have seen this coming," she said after a sigh.

"All said and done, though, I think I'm rather glad we know about it in the end, Libby."

"Is it bad that I hope that this isn't the end of it?" she asked with a quiet chuckle.

I shrugged. "As long as she doesn't lose that parchment I think they'll be just fine."

Lily nodded as we entered the Three Broomsticks, looking around for our husbands and Remus. We spotted them and began making our way towards them.

"Should we tell the boys?" she murmured.

I thought it over for a moment.

"The less people who know, the better, I think…although it will probably be beneficial to their group if not one, but two teachers know what they're up to," I replied quietly. "Because they will inevitably be out of bed after hours."

She nodded again before pausing.

"Do Kailey and Harry know about that room?"

"Yeah," I answered after a moment of thinking. "Sirius and I showed it to them and Cedric last fall. Think it'll come in handy?"

She shrugged. "Only if they think of it."

**Finally the end of this chapter! I know it's been a long time since I've updated, but I've been away (as in away from a computer and electricity in general) for the majority of the past few weeks. I hope you enjoyed it! Next will be chapter 13!**

**:-D**


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen: Tutoring and Parenting

**I disclaim.**

**Apology/explanation for lateness at the end! For now, Enjoy!**

_Keena's Point of View: _

"I simply do not know where else to turn!"

I handed her another tissue, nodding dutifully as she continued to hiccup.

"Truly, you have been in my position before; the injustice of it all! For her to even suggest that I am incompetent when she has not Seen so much as a forecast of weather without the help of looking out of her own window!"

Another great sniff.

"I've been in this position for sixteen years! And you _know_ about my predictions! They are all valid. All of them. Down to the time that I say they are going to occur."

I sighed.

"Sybil, don't take this the wrong way, but I honestly hope your prediction of Harry's death is dead wrong."

She paused in the act of blowing her nose to give me an indignant look. Apparently the pun was unappreciated.

"As for your probation, I agree. She is in no position to tell you how to do your job if she has no record of even taking Divination when she was in school herself. It's an imprecise magic, after all," I continued before catching the look on her face. "If your Inner Eye is clouded, I mean," I added hastily.

She rolled her eyes and sniffed again.

"The little one wishes for you to hold her," she mumbled.

I frowned at her and looked over at Aradia; she was asleep. I looked away and opened my mouth to ask Trelawney what she was on about when suddenly Aradia began to cry. I blinked as Trelawney presented me with an I-told-you-so look.

"May I?" she asked as I lifted the sniffling baby into my arms.

"Certainly," I replied, a bit surprised by her request, relinquishing my daughter into the Seer's waiting arms.

"Oh, but you will be a beauty," she whispered to the baby, keeping her own sniffling quiet. "Perhaps not an active Seer as your elder sister, but just as powerful a witch. Did you know her soul is already fourteen years old?" she addressed to me, looking up.

I digested the information for a moment.

"I can't say it surprises me," I admitted finally. "When I was first pregnant with her…well, it doesn't matter anymore does it? And I'm sure you've at least heard of how it all happened if you didn't See it."

She nodded.

"Occasionally we will See such tragedies but without enough detail to prevent it. But I daresay it will make her stronger; the Inner Eye has much power."

I sighed, nodding in agreement. Then I had a thought.

"Especially when it is properly trained," I added softly, looking up to see her reaction.

"Of course I would not mind tutoring your other daughter in how to better understand her gift of the Sight," she replied, looking away from me and down at the baby who looked like she was about ready to start crying. "Here, babies generally dislike being so close to those of us who Know and See what they cannot."

I managed to hide my smirk; clearly she had never held a crying baby before.

Trelawney excused herself before Aradia could really work herself up, making something up about grading essays. I was not alone with my youngest daughter for very long, however.

Alianna didn't wait for me to respond to her knock on the door, which she shut firmly behind her before coming to sit in front of my desk in a huff.

"Something the matter?" I asked as she presented me with a look.

"I do not want a tutor," she stated firmly, sounding a bit insulted to be honest.

"You know I haven't even talked to your father about this yet. Why don't you wait for us to actually come to the decision on our own before you get all worked up over something that might not even come to pass?" I suggested giving her a look of my own.

"But mum," even though she was whining, I loved hearing her call me that. "I'll be the only Ravenclaw to have a tutor! Do you know how embarrassing that would be?"

"That is not true; plenty of your housemates come to see me on a regular basis," I countered with a shake of my head.

"Yeah, but that's you, not a specific teacher. It's different."

"I don't see how, love. And wouldn't you be more embarrassed if I tutored you myself?"

"No," she grumbled, though it was far too fast for her to have really thought about it.

"And even if I did tutor you myself, I don't know enough about true Divination to be of any help to you. The few Divination students who come to see me are not Seers, so it's not a problem that I can't See myself. But your visions are…well, the idea of them scares me, love. I don't want you to accidentally See something if there is the chance that you can control it at all."

"But what if I don't want it controlled?" she burst out before shutting her mouth quickly and looking away from me, as if ashamed.

I frowned and placed the baby back in her crib before going around my desk to stand in front of my daughter. She wouldn't look at me as she fiddled with her hands in her lap.

"Alianna, look at me please," I said calmly, bending and placing my hands over both of hers.

She looked up slowly, her blue-gray eyes looking into my brown ones warily.

"I Saw what was going to happen to Granny before it did…if I'd known what I was dreaming was real then I could've—" she cut herself off and squeezed her eyes shut.

"Could've what, love? Stopped it?"

She bit her lip and nodded.

"Alianna, what happened to your grandmother, as absolutely terrible as it was, was not something within your power to stop. And, even though I never met her, I know she would not want you to continue Seeing things like that, I'm sure of it," I said, softly but firmly.

"But if I stop from Seeing things, how will I protect you and dad and Aradia? I've already lost my whole family once, I don't want it to happen again," she sniffed hard. "I See you and dad and everyone else fighting. Sometimes you win and sometimes you lose and I never know which will happen and which won't but if I don't See them at all then how can I warn you?"

"It's not your job to warn us, Alianna," I replied, placing a hand on her face so that she would look at me. "It is our job to protect you."

"I want to protect you too," she whispered, leaning forward to bring me into a hug.

"How about we make a deal?" I suggested, rubbing her back soothingly. She nodded her head against my shoulder. "Let's say your dad and I protect you as best we can and you help us to protect your sister as best you can. How does that sound?"

"Good," she mumbled. "But who protects you and who protects dad?"

"Dad protects me and I protect him as well. That's why we need your help with you and your sister. Deal?"

"Deal," she replied.

"Alright then," I gave her one last squeeze before releasing her and standing back. I took a tissue out of the box on my desk and handed it to her. "Now, enough tears, you need to get yourself to class, Ms. Black."

* * *

_Kailey's Point of View: _

"Neville, no!"

Harry reacted faster than any of the other Gryffindor boys as Neville lunged at Malfoy. They struggled for a moment before Ron handed his bag off to Hermione so that he had both arms to use to help Harry.

"If by influence you mean bribery, _Malferret_, then I think you've got it right," I replied, glaring at him. "But she seems more the Death Eater type, if you ask me. Do you need a mark for your team to be approved of? Or would that hurt your arm too much?"

Malfoy's face turned pink and he narrowed his eyes at me, but before he could say another word my dad arrived on the scene. Points were duly taken from Gryffindor and we all entered the classroom.

"What's got Neville so worked up?" Ron muttered to me under his breath while we prepared our cauldrons as Snape endured Umbridge's questioning.

I gave a half-shrug as my response, though when I glanced up it was to see Ron giving me a doubtful look.

"Please, Ron, just drop it, alright?" I requested. "And you're better off shaving the dragon scales into sheets; chopping them like that doesn't really get the best results."

"That isn't what our text says," Hermione muttered back, though Ron immediately took my advice.

I just shrugged and continued stirring my potion, keeping a half-ear open to Umbridge's interrogation.

"Now I have it on record here that you lost custody of your daughter," she stated, not bothering to quiet her voice any. I winced, but caught Ron's arm just before he added a second stir to his potion. "And that it happened due to an accident here at the castle."

Snape made no verbal reply. When I chanced a glance up it was to see Umbridge had her back to me. Snape's expression was just shy of murderous.

"Also, I've read that you did not fight to gain custody back and you'd only had your daughter for one year."

"Do you have a point, Professor?" he asked, clearly working to not sneer at her.

"Well, if you are not responsible enough to handle your daughter then how are you responsible enough to teach such a…hazardous course?"

"I assure you that if it were my desire, I would be perfectly capable of regaining the custody of my daughter. The accident was due to an owl knocking a reactive ingredient into my cauldron at a delicate moment," he replied stiffly.

"Hm," she scribbled something and I poked Harry in the side to stop him from adding too much syrup of lilac. "And how many years have you held this post?"

"Fourteen."

"But you originally applied for and have continued to apply for the Defense Against the Dark Arts post every year and are unsuccessful?"

Snape's expression hardened. Behind Umbridge's back, I made a face as I rolled my eyes. His lips quirked.

"Obviously."

"Mm-hm," she scribbled something else down. "Do you know why Headmaster Dumbledore refuses you the post?"

"I suggest you ask him," he replied before turning away to stop Crabbe just as he went to add two extra newt legs.

She smiled toothily at his back before turning to face the Gryffindor side of the room. I immediately returned my eyes to my own potion, praying that the others could get by on their own for the rest of the class.

Divination was as boring as it ever was, but for some reason Trelawney wasn't in quite as bad of a mood as I had expected her to be in. Granted, she did mutter threats about leaving the school throughout the class which caused Ron and Harry to exchange somewhat excited grins. I rolled my eyes at them and leaned towards them.

"She's only angry because Umbridge stuck her on probation; she's not actually going to leave," I warned in a whisper.

"Must you ruin our fun?" Ron groaned in reply while Harry melodramatically landed his head on the table.

"Just trying to keep you from getting your hopes up," I answered in a shrug.

During DADA, Hermione was rereading the book all over again, Harry was taking a good ten minutes before turning the pages and Ron was taking at least as long, though he was at least looking at the page before him for the majority of the time. I, on the other hand, was sitting with the book angled upwards just enough so that Umbridge couldn't see my quill moving back and forth across the page. I was making illustrations in the margins, one per paragraph. The book seemed to think its readers were babies and what children's book didn't have pictures?

I managed to stop myself from jumping and spilling ink everywhere when I heard Harry's snort from next to me.

"Bless you," I said quickly as Umbridge looked up to see what the problem was.

"Thanks," he whispered back and Umbridge returned to doing whatever it was she was doing. Apparently, she couldn't distinguish between a snort and a sneeze.

"What was so funny?" Hermione asked Harry the moment we were out of Umbridge's earshot as we headed off towards dinner.

He glanced at me as a grin grew on his face.

"Kailey was making stick figures in her margins," he answered. Ron and Hermione seemed unimpressed. "With dialogue bubbles."

Hermione narrowed her eyes and looked to me for an explanation.

"It's nothing, really," I shrugged. "I'm just translating what the book is saying into a language more befitting of the subject matter."

"Mind translating _that_?" Ron requested with a roll of his eyes.

"They're saying things like 'Spells is very naughty' and 'Keep wands out of reach of everyone' along with some more…" Harry hesitated, glancing at me.

"Colorful phrases," I supplied easily.

"Aren't you worried that Umbridge will notice?" Hermione asked worriedly.

"There isn't any more room on the back of my hand to write 'I must not draw nor write inappropriate pictures or phrases in my Defense Against the Dark Arts book' so, no, I'm not."

"She could expel you!" Hermione hissed after glancing around.

"For that?" I laughed. "Nah, she'd suspend me first. I'd have to go and live with my guardian during that time and let's remember who is legally in charge of me at the moment."

We entered the Great Hall and all four of us glanced up at Dumbledore as he said something to McGonagall.

"Fine, but if she did expel you, don't you think the Ministry would take you away from him?" she insisted.

"They might," I allowed. "But it's only a matter of time before Voldemort comes out into the open anyway and then—"

"By then it'll be too late," Ron argued, cutting me off. "They'll stick you with the Malfoys or something."

I sighed.

"So then I just won't get caught, how's that?"

Hermione huffed but said nothing more on the subject.

Just as we were leaving the Great Hall, Alianna came sprinting up to the four of us. She gave Harry a quick hug and smiled at the rest of us for a moment before facing Ron with the same expression she had used over the summer to try and get one of us to study extra material with her.

"How are classes going?" she asked innocently, smiling sweetly at Ron.

He glanced at Harry in confusion for a moment.

"Fine," he answered slowly. "Yours?"

"Very well, but I do have a question concerning parents," Ron's eyes narrowed and Hermione and I exchanged glances. "Say your mum wanted you to take extra lessons but you didn't want to because then your whole house would know and tease you for it. How would you get out of it?"

"Your mum wants you to take extra lessons?" Harry asked with a slight frown.

"Yeah, with Trelawney."

Hermione turned a giggle into a cough.

"For your gift?" I asked quietly.

Alianna grimaced slightly but nodded.

"Ali, my mum doesn't let us get away with anything," Ron replied. "If we really don't want to do something, we go straight to dad," he added at her disheartened look. "It works really well for Ginny."

The twelve-year-old's gray-blue eyes gained a gleam as she suddenly beamed up at Ron. She grinned widely, surprised him with a quick hug as she thanked him before nearly skipping out of the hall.

"Why do I feel like I've just been tricked by a second year?" he asked, raising his eyes to the ceiling as if addressing the candles.

"Because I think you just were," Hermione answered, glancing back towards the teachers' table.

I followed her line of sight to see that Sirius and Keena were already gone.

"I don't think Sirius is gonna know what hit him," I grinned.

* * *

_Keena's Point of View: _

I was in the nursery with Aradia and Sparky when I heard them enter. By the tone of their voices, I knew she was asking him for something and he seemed to be agreeing. It made me smile to know that she was already coming to us for advice. The smile faded, however, when I heard him say "Don't worry, I'm sure I can sway your mum's decision on this" before she thanked him and left our quarters.

Sparky and I exchanged glances.

"Is mistress wishing for Sparky to take the littlest miss for a few minutes?" Sparky suggested softly, holding her long fingered hands out to take the baby from my arms.

"If you don't mind," I said tiredly. "But apparently I've something to discuss with her father."

"Uh oh," Sirius said and I jumped slightly and turned to see him standing in the doorway.

"What?" I asked, turning back to hand the baby to the house elf.

"You called me 'her father' and not 'my husband' which is something I recall Mrs. P doing when she was, shall we say, _unhappy_ with Mr. P," he answered with a shrug.

I didn't reply right away, smiling slightly to myself as he moved aside to let me out of the room. Sparky shut the door softly behind us and I led the two of us over to the couch in front of the fireplace.

"Sibyll came to my office today," I began without preamble. "Going on about the injustice of her probation when she reminded me that she is a very capable Seer."

Sirius snorted and I gave him a look.

"You and I both know what I'm talking about, Sirius," I said softly.

"Yeah," he moved closer to me and wrapped an arm around my shoulders. "Doesn't mean I don't think she's an old fraud."

"Regardless, she's the closest thing that we can get as a good, well, _decent_ tutor for Alianna. Sibyll had hardly left when Alianna burst in to tell me she doesn't want a tutor. _I_ told her that I'd talk to _you_ first before _we_ made any decisions."

He gave me a guilty grin.

"Sorry, but she turns me into a flubberworm whenever she wants something. I think she gets it from you," he grinned wider, kissing the side of my head before pulling me close in a hug. "Even though she is adopted," he added quietly and I sighed.

"D'you think she thought to go to you alone on her own, though? Her grandmother was the only one who raised her and I doubt she brought many boyfriends home if she did at all."

He shrugged one shoulder and I looked up at him from my position leaning on his shoulder.

"I think it's likely that she asked a friend or maybe Harry," he admitted.

"I don't think she'd get an answer from Harry," I replied. "Maybe Ron or Hermione."

"Not Kailey?" he asked, surprised.

"No, she knows Kailey's situation isn't all that great; she wanted to know why we wouldn't adopt her too."

"Well, aside from ruining hers and Harry's love life…" he trailed off, chuckling to himself before sobering his amusement. "So, she gets to be tutored by as real a Seer as we can find her. Think she'll See our decision?"

There was suddenly a loud, hurried knock on our door.

Sirius and I exchanged a long look.

"I think she already did."

* * *

_Kailey's Point of View: _

"So Vanishing a live animal does not hurt the animal?" I was still hung up on this part of transfiguration and Hermione did not seem completely sure either.

We were sitting in the common room in front of the fire. Hermione and I were reviewing our notes while Harry and Ron grumbled over not having Quidditch back in between asking one of us a question that had to do with whatever essay it was they were writing. The common room was empty and I had noticed that as the emptier it got, the less sure Hermione was of her stance.

"I'm pretty sure it doesn't," she answered, though her voice wavered.

"But what if it does? Doesn't that make it an inhumane spell?"

"Well…" Hermione didn't seem to have anything to add to it.

"That's not helpful."

"Who cares if it hurts them?" Ron asked. "Snape'll hurt me if I don't get this ingredient list finished."

We both gave Ron a long look and he rolled his eyes and exchanged a glance with Harry that seemed to say 'girls'.

"If Vanishing animals bothers you that much, why not just go ask Keena?" Harry suggested after a moment. "She probably knows."

"Not sure I'd count on that; your godmother wasn't the strongest when it came to Transfiguration."

We all jumped and Ron spilled his ink as a familiar voice sounded from the fireplace. I looked over to the fire to see that it was green and balancing the undisguised head of James Potter. Harry slid off of the couch and knelt in front of the fire, greeting his dad in excitement. Hermione and I exchanged worried glances, ignoring Ron who was swearing under his breath about his ink.

"What are you doing here?" Harry asked, glancing around to be sure that we truly were the only ones left in the common room.

"We hadn't heard from you lot in a while," his head tipped and I figured he had shrugged one shoulder. "So I figured I'd see if you could stand to chat."

"But this is dangerous," Hermione muttered.

James gave her a strange look.

"Nobody's looking for me and even if I am seen they'll dismiss it; I'm dead, remember?"

Hermione did not seem satisfied, and the word 'dead' had caused Harry's face to tighten.

"Okay, fine, so does Vanishing an animal hurt it?" I asked impatiently, hoping James didn't notice when Ron gave Harry a tiny shove to shock him out of his funk.

"Nope," he replied.

"But it's irreversible…isn't it?" Hermione pressed, conceding to the change of subject.

"Course not! There's a corresponding Conjuring spell that undoes the Vanishing spell that you're learning now. When you start that, you'll be retrieving the animals that you've been practicing your Vanishing with," he explained.

"Oh," Hermione's eyes were very round as she said it, but she smiled a moment later in understanding. "I understand now. Thanks, Mr. Pot—er, I mean, James," she hastily amended at the look on James' face.

His face relaxed once more and he shook his head with a slight chuckle.

"Course, I wouldn't expect you all to have time for extra Transfiguration when you're coming up with secret clubs."

The other three looked surprised at his statement, but I only shook my head.

"The two veiled witches?" I asked, a smirk growing on my face.

"Keena and Libby," he answered with a nod. "The Hog's Head?" he asked in return with a smirk.

"Hermione," I replied and he nodded in understanding. "But what's done is done."

"It isn't as if we could have done it anywhere else," Hermione argued.

"The Three Broomsticks wouldn't've called that much attention," I argued. "Plus, it would've been harder for people to hear what we were saying. Besides, who told Umbridge on us?"

But James shook his head.

"Not sure, but I've been ordered to pass this along so listen up. Ron, you and your siblings are by no means given permission to participate in any illegal school clubs. And while she knows you are not her children, Mrs. Weasley advices Hermione, Harry and Kailey to follow the same. Harry, our only preference is that if you feel you must do this that you take special care to not get caught. Oh, and Snape is aware and will not award detentions if he can help it."

"So you think it's a good idea, then?" Harry asked after his father had finished.

I started packing up my things, organizing everyone's homework into neat piles on the table.

"I think it's brilliant! By the sound of it, you've not been taught a thing all year by that woman."

I gathered Hermione's and my papers into my lap, shoving Harry and Ron's towards Ron who had seen what I was doing out of the corner of a narrowed eye.

"Do you know of any good places for us to practice?" Ron asked eagerly, dismissing my odd actions for a moment.

"As a matter of fact, I think—"

But what he thought, we never heard. His head turned sideways and he squinted at something that seemed to be in the brick before disappearing.

"Dad—?" Harry's question broke off and Hermione gasped, jumping to her feet.

I stood with the parchments and looked over to see that Ron had grabbed the ones I had shoved towards him before sprinting for the dormitory stairs, Hermione following on my heals, neither one of us looking back. She slammed the door behind us, though Lavender and Parvati didn't even flinch as they slept on in their beds.

"Who…was…that?" she panted, shaking a little from the left over adrenaline.

"Do you…need to…ask?" I replied, dumping all of the parchments onto my bed before sorting through them.

She gave me a horrified look.

"Do you think…she knows?" she whispered, her eyes wide in fear.

"I really hope not…"

The next day we were practicing (or attempting in some people's cases) silencing charms. I eyed my bullfrog skeptically for a moment as he stared back balefully. I had already silenced two crows and I had a feeling this particular frog knew what was going on. I lifted my wand to aim and the frog hopped so that it was out of my range. I frowned at it and readjusted my aim only to watch the frog hop back over to where he had been before. I scowled and quickly began to move my wand around, changing direction and following the frog as he jumped.

"_Silencio_!"

My spell shot out of my wand as he was mid-jump and the frog fell off of the desk.

"A trifle less exuberance, Ms. Snape," Flitwick called out, his voice a bit louder than usual due to a misfired spell of Dean Thomas'.

I winced as I ducked under my desk to grab the frog, glaring at Harry and Ron as they sniggered at me.

"_Silencio_, _Silencio_!" I said quickly, pointing my wand first at Harry and then again at Ron. Both boys glared at me when they realized there were no longer sounds coming from their mouths. "Like that, professor?" I asked innocently, looking over to see Flitwick's expression (it was somewhere between amused, impressed and annoyed).

"As a matter of fact, yes, Ms. Snape. Now, do you know the counter curse?"

"I think I do," I said slowly. "Isn't it _Dicire_?"

"Yes, very good," Flitwick nodded approvingly. "Ten points to Gryffindor if you can do it successfully on your first two tries," he added, gesturing towards Ron and Harry, each of whom glanced at the other nervously before looking back at me with wide eyes.

I smirked and performed the spell twice.

"Well, boys?" Flitwick said with tones of anticipation.

They exchanged silent looks, clearly wanting the other to speak first before Ron burst out "Fine, I'll go first."

Flitwick grinned approvingly.

"I suppose it worked then," Harry said aloud.

"Excellent, now, no more using each other to practice on," the little professor trotted away towards Seamus, who looked as though he was going to make something blow up soon if the look on his face was anything to go by.

"He let you off easy," Ron commented once Flitwick was occupied across the room. I just shrugged, not really concerned.

During that day's break, the boys learned (to their excitement and slight dismay) that Quidditch would be back on that night. While they were gone, Hermione and I took advantage of their lack of interruptions to get our own essays for our more challenging classes out of the way. She helped me a bit in History of Magic while I cleared up some of her questions in Potions.

"But the books say—"

"Hermione, trust me; books don't always have the best answers," I said over her for what felt like the hundredth time. "Doesn't mean that the book is wrong, but sometimes it's longer. Like…like…" I struggled for a moment for a good analogy before remembering I wasn't talking to Ron and could bring up muggle technology. "Like using a calculator versus doing all the work by hand; each one is right, but one is faster than the other."

"One is also lazier than the other," she pointed out tartly, shaking her head. "But I understand, I suppose, though you don't always have a calculator on hand."

"Right, so those are the times you follow your book. I don't have a magical solution for every potion we brew, you know."

"What other kind of solution can you have when brewing?" she replied seriously, though her lips twitched.

I groaned at her horrendous pun and she grinned before yawning suddenly.

"All this joking around making you tired?" I smirked. She rolled her eyes but stood up.

"No, I think it's all this nonsense about potions," she returned. "I think I'm going to head off to bed. Think you can handle the rest of that History of Magic essay on your own?"

"Not like I have a choice, right?"

She smiled again.

"Good night, Kailey."

"Night, 'Mione," I replied before turning to the rough draft of my essay which she had just checked over for verification purposes.

The Quidditch team piled in through the portrait hole only twenty minutes after Hermione had gone to bed. I called out a distracted hello to them before jumping when Fred and George sat down beside me, slapping a piece of parchment down on top of my still wet essay. I scowled at them, knowing that now I would have to rewrite the whole thing over again.

"Oops," Fred said, lifting up the parchment while George removed my essay from underneath.

"Sorry," George added, squinting at the writing. "It'll have to be redone."

"Perfect," I replied sarcastically, rolling my neck while one twin siphoned the ink back into the bottle that the other held up. "What do you want?"

"Just to remind you that you've said you'd help us."

"To get our potions all in order for our products."

"For the joke shop," they chorused when I raised an eyebrow in slight confusion.

"Oh, right," I said, shaking my head and pulling the contract towards me. "I'm not an inventor, you know."

"We know," George replied.

"We just need you to see if any of our invented potions will have a negative reaction," Fred explained.

"Like poisoning our customers," George expanded.

"Or ourselves," Fred added.

"Or if there are any shortcuts we could take," George said thoughtfully.

"Things that would save our time," Fred agreed with a nod.

"And your money," I inserted distractedly while I read the contract over. "What's this bit at the bottom about agreeing to test any potion I alter?"

"We figured if you wouldn't take it yourself—"

"—then why should we risk it?"

"Yeah…no."

They looked at me in shock as I pushed the parchment back on the table.

"No?"

"Why not?"

"Merlin knows what your potions are designed to do! I mean, I'm all for skipping class occasionally, but I'm not willing to vomit for it! No. I do not want to be required to test anything. It's a deal breaker."

"Aw, c'mon, Kailey," Fred whined.

"We need someone other than ourselves to test out the love potion anyway," George groaned.

"We were hoping you wouldn't mind," Fred admitted.

"Since you're already in love with Harry," they finished in unison.

"Excuse me? I'm what?" I burst back after a brief struggle with my vocal chords before glancing to see that no one else was in the common room. "Why would you say that?" I hissed when I was satisfied that neither Ron nor Harry was around.

They looked at one another and shrugged.

"It's only true," George said matter-of-factly.

"You're always together," Fred pointed out.

"More than Ron and Hermione," George added.

"Yeah, well you two are around each other more than you are with Lee. Does that automatically make the two of you a couple?"

"We're twins," they stated dryly.

"Fine, but we're just friends."

"Just friends?"

"Okay, we're _best_ friends. Happy?"

"Whatever you say," Fred said airily after another pair of exchanged looks.

"We'll rewrite the contract then," George sighed and the two of them stood up.

"Which is to say we'll write in smaller print," Fred grinned.

I rolled my eyes at the two of them and returned to my work.

* * *

_Keena's Point of View: _

I sighed quietly as I rocked Aradia back and forth in the rocking chair that had been placed in the nursery. Alianna was now not speaking to Sirius or me which, though I had tried to prepare myself for it, was making me unhappy. Severus had offered a book on parenting that Dumbledore had given to him when he overheard me explaining to Flitwick why my daughter kept looking up at the staff table with a mixture of anger and sadness. But I had decided that if I could deal with Harry's mood swings, then I should be able to handle my own daughter's.

The door to the nursery opened quietly and Sirius poked his head in.

"Is she any better?" he asked softly.

"Not quite enough to be left alone," I replied in like tones. "Why?"

"We've got some company," he replied, nodding his head back towards the living room.

I sat up a little straighter, but he shook his head.

"It's Harry," he said before I could get myself too worked up.

"Alright, I'm coming."

When I stopped rocking, Aradia sniffled a bit until I began walking. She quieted back down quickly, though Sirius brought the rocking chair out into the living room so that I could continue rocking her. Harry was soaked through to the skin in his Quidditch uniform and he had a bit of mud stuck on his cheek. He gave me a small smile before looking around for a place to sit down.

"Anywhere is fine, Harry," I said when I had realized what he was doing. "Sparky was telling me the other day how very neat we seem to be. Not that she minded of course," I grinned, rolling my eyes as I remembered how terrified the young house elf had become when she realized what she had said.

"Where's your broom?" Sirius asked as he took his own seat.

"Ron took it back to the tower for me," Harry answered, fiddling with his hands for a moment. "He said that I should talk to you about…this."

Sirius and I glanced at one another.

"And what is 'this' exactly, Harry?" Sirius pressed gently.

Harry sighed softly, one hand rising to rub at his scar.

"Ah," I said shortly. "And when was this?"

"Just at the end of practice," he seemed even more embarrassed that I had understood with no further explanation.

"Any other times that it's happened this year?"

He fidgeted in his seat. Clearly a yes.

"When?" Sirius asked bluntly.

"Over the summer and again during my first detention with Umbridge," he muttered so quietly that it was nearly a strain to hear him. "He was…" he paused and gave us each a pleading expression before continuing. "He was angry over the summer…furious. Then it was like he was happy during my detention and then just now at practice he was angry again."

"You can feel his emotions?" I asked carefully, slowly, so that he knew I wasn't judging him.

He nodded and ducked his head.

"We'll talk with Dumbledore abou—"

"No, no, please," he spoke out in a rush, keeping his voice just low enough that he wouldn't startle the baby. "He's busy enough as it is."

"He's not too busy for this, Harry," Sirius said firmly. "He needs to know."

"It's only happened three times and I…I just want to be normal."

I closed my eyes for a moment.

"I'm giving you until Christmas, then," I said softly. "If by then you've had even one more feeling or urge or…or…nightmare then we are going to get Dumbledore in on this. But just so you know, Harry, I don't like it one bit."

He nodded in understanding before standing up suddenly.

"I…er, I need to go. Homework," he said hastily. He made it to the door before he paused. "Thank you. For trusting me with this, I mean."

"You always have our trust, Harry," Sirius replied. "Don't ever forget that; we're here for you."

He nodded and left the room quietly.

I leaned back in the rocking chair for a moment, gazing down at my now sleeping daughter. Only two months old and already I would do as much for her as I would for Alianna who, when I thought hard about it, I had only known for five months. And when I thought even more on it then that, I realized I would do as much for them as I would for Harry, who I'd known for fifteen years now. And when I thought of _that_, I realized that I would do anything for all three of them at once if I had to. I was beginning to realize, though, just how broad the term 'anything' really was.

**And so ends chapter 13! I sincerely hope you enjoyed it!**

**Now, I could go on, gushing about how sorry I am over this delay but it wouldn't change the fact that my summer job demanded 11 hour work days for what amounted to the entire month of July and August before I moved back to college and was plunged into class assignments hardly three days after moving in. **

**So, even though I do apologize for the delay, please also be understanding that life does get in the way more often than I would like (granted, wouldn't life be boring if it didn't?). Stay tuned for chapter 14!**

**:-D**


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter Fourteen: Dumbledore's Army Begins

**I disclaim this as belonging to JKR.**

**Please enjoy!**

_Kailey's Point of View: _

"Having fun?"

I jumped, cursing under my breath as I drew a squiggle onto my History essay. I looked up at the intrusion to see a slightly damp Harry looking down at me with a smirk. The intended expression was ruined, however, due to the bit of dried dirt on the side of his face. I rolled my eyes at him and lifted up my essay so he could see what was being written.

He sat down beside me and squinted at the title before his expression cleared.

"So that would be a 'yes' then," he laughed. "But this looks like you've only just started it."

I scowled. "Yeah, well it was mostly done when tweedle dee and tweedle dum decided to dump their stupid contract for that potions consultation thing on my first final draft."

"Consultation thing?"

"Yeah, for their products? Hermione doesn't want me to do it, remember? Well, anyway they had this bogus clause that said I'd have to test anything that I altered and, well, I said no."

"Hermione will be so proud," he said dryly. "But honestly what's the harm in testing something for them?"

I laughed a little and shook my head.

"Did you not see them puking the other day? No thank you. Besides, they were going to trick me into testing their—" I cut myself off abruptly and couldn't stop myself from blushing.

"Testing their what?" Harry asked, giving me a look that clearly said you-had-better-not-try-to-lie.

I shook my head, mentally kicking myself as I did so.

"Why were you so much later than the others? Ron wouldn't tell me when he came through," I said instead, looking about for a change of topic.

He frowned at me, tilting his head to one side.

"You mean you don't know?"

I rolled my eyes at him.

"Just because I know you had a brief…_headache_, doesn't mean I know why you came back to the common room so much later than all the rest. I thought…" I paused before continuing quietly. "I thought you'd maybe like to talk about it?"

"Oh, well, I did. Talk about it, I mean," he said in surprise and…guilt? "With my godparents."

"Oh, alright," I shrugged in what I hoped was a carefree way and it should have been. He didn't have to talk to me about every little thing that happened. Besides, it was a good thing that he was turning to them first. That's how it was supposed to be. "Never mind, we don't have to bring it up if you've already gone through it once tonight."

He looked away from me, fiddling with the end of his sleeve, wringing out some of the excess dampness. I watched him for a moment before turning back to my essay to try and write a conclusion.

"I just…don't like thinking about you…knowing about it," he admitted quietly as I scratched my quill across my parchment. I paused, frowned and looked up at him. He wasn't looking at me though; he was staring intently into the fire.

"Harry, why would you think it mattered to me? You're still you."

He snorted. "Yeah, I'm still me; having dreams about people dying and corridors with doors and then getting random mood swings thanks to Voldemort…" he trailed off, shaking his head.

"Those are just experiences you have, Harry. It's not really who you are and you know it," I said firmly, giving him a look.

"What if I don't?" he argued.

"Well, _I_ know it," I said, turning back to look at my essay.

He didn't say anything more and I finished my essay before I looked back up at him. He was staring at the fire again, though there was a very faint smile on his face. I fought my own urge to grin and shook my head, standing up.

"Night, Harry."

"G'night, Kailey."

The next morning, on our way to breakfast, Harry decided to let Ron, Hermione and me in on why exactly he had slept so little that he didn't realize that his cloak was inside-out until Hermione pointed it out.

"I was talking to Dobby and it distracted me from my homework," he yawned as he shrugged it off of his shoulders so that he could fix it. "Actually, I need to tell you about it anyway. I think we may have found a place to meet."

Hermione stood up straighter while Ron glanced around to see that no one was in hearing range before he looked at Harry.

"There's this room on the seventh floor, across from that portrait of Barnabas the Barmy, that's called the Room of Requirement, Dobby reminded me—"

"But I've never heard of it…are you sure it's real?" Hermione interrupted.

"Let me finish, would you?" Harry grumbled, rolling his eyes. "I was saying that Dobby _reminded_ me of it. Kailey and I already knew about it because that's where we practiced last year before the first and third tasks."

"Why didn't you tell us?" Ron asked, frowning. "We thought you were just using empty classrooms."

"Sirius and Keena didn't want word of it getting around the school," I answered with a shrug. "It's only meant for those who truly need it, not for every single person who just wants something. The author of _Hogwarts, A History_ probably never even knew it existed."

"Well, if Sirius and Keena knew about it then I suppose it's safe," Hermione said after a moment. She paused, glancing around for a moment as we entered the Great Hall. "How are we going to tell everyone?"

"We shouldn't spread the word till we know when we're having our first one," I replied quietly.

"Why not tonight at eight o'clock?" she suggested.

"We can't if there's Quidditch," Ron replied, shaking his head, but Hermione huffed.

"Honestly, Ronald, this is far more important than Quidditch."

"Good luck convincing the other members of the team," I said with a slight smirk.

Just as luck would have it (or weather) Angelina came and found the boys at lunch to tell them that Quidditch had been cancelled due to the heavy rains outside. As soon as she finished speaking, Harry told her about the meeting that would be taking place that night. She looked a little surprised but promised to pass it along.

"What?" Harry asked Hermione, who was giving him a slightly annoyed look.

"What happened to not being able to do it tonight?" she asked, crossing her arms across her chest and raising an eyebrow.

"Quidditch was cancelled," he shrugged after a confused glance towards Ron, who had shook his head before returning to his meal.

"Boys," Hermione sighed.

* * *

_Keena's Point of View: _

A knock on my door after dinner was followed by Sirius poking his head into my office. I beckoned him forward after I gained a nod of approval from Luna Lovegood as she blew her nose in the tissue I had handed her just moments before.

"I got your patronus," Sirius said quietly, though he was frowning at me. "What's going on?"

I cleared my throat and Luna turned her vague gaze towards me, sighing softly as she did so.

"Luna, you need to tell Auror Black what you've told me so that we can get this settled."

"I know they're just trying to have fun, Professor," she said softly, though her voice wavered uncharacteristically. "It isn't anything personal."

"Maybe not, Luna, but this time they've bothered you," I pressed gently.

Alianna had come to my office just before dinner, seething. At first I had thought she was going to start complaining about the tutoring again but then she had begun venting about how the older Ravenclaw girls were teasing Luna. She explained that it had been going on for a long while and that she and Samantha had wanted Luna to come to a teacher sooner but up until that morning nothing they had done had ever shaken Luna's resolve.

One of the sixth year Ravenclaws (Luna had neglected to tell me her name) had teased that Luna's parents must have used her as a guinea pig for experiments to put into the Quibbler. She had gone so far as to say that Luna's mother hadn't wanted a daughter, just a subject for tests. Either the older girl hadn't known that Luna's mother, who had indeed been an independent researcher, had died of a failed experiment years ago or she had not cared.

Luna sighed again and dabbed her eyes with a fresh tissue before fixing her blue-eyed stare on my husband.

"Other children think I'm odd," she began, tucking some of her blonde hair behind her ear to reveal a radish earring. "It's not that I mind it; I know they have a difficult time understanding things that they can't see. A lot of people are like that. But today they were not behaving very nicely at all. They were teasing me about…about my mother."

She looked away from us and Sirius took the moment to give me a look before mouthing the word 'who' at me. I shrugged and shook my head.

"Luna," she looked at me at the sound of her name. "We can't do anything if you do not give us a name."

"You can stay anonymous," Sirius added quickly. "I'm sure there were witnesses."

She nodded distractedly.

"But I doubt any of them would be willing to come forward."

"Well, we can make it a part of the punishment that this student or these students cannot ever speak of this again."

"You can do that?" she asked, looking surprised.

_Of course you can…just ask Severus Snape about a certain event in the middle of his sixth year…_

"Yes of course," I answered aloud. "Will you tell us?"

She bit her lip in thought for a moment, twirling the radish between her thumb and forefinger. The baby gave a soft cry from her crib and my eyes snapped to where she lay.

"You can take her out, Professor, I don't mind," Luna murmured.

I smiled at her.

"She'll be able to stand it a few moments longer, I'm sure. But thank you," I added sincerely.

"Her name…do I have to say it aloud or may I write it down instead?"

"Whatever makes you the most comfortable," Sirius answered, coming around to dig through my pile of rubble on the top of my desk in search of a blank piece of parchment.

I cleared my throat at him and lifted up a sheaf of reviews and quizzes to reveal where I kept the spare parchment. He rolled his eyes and gave Luna a look that clearly said and-I-married-this-woman-because-? which made her giggle.

She accepted the parchment and quill from me and I placed the ink on the edge of my desk so that she could reach it. She scribbled the name down quickly and folded the parchment up, handing it to Sirius before standing up. She thanked us politely and requested that we not go too hard on the girl before leaving the office, shutting the door softly behind her.

Sirius shook his head after her and I stood up at the sound of a second, more frustrated cry from my daughter. I lifted Aradia into my arms, rocking her gently and turning back around to face my husband. He had the note opened and a furrowed brow.

"How hard on her d'you think I should be?" Sirius asked, folding the parchment back up and tucking it into a pocket on the inside of his robes.

"I suppose it depends on whether or not she knew that Luna's mother died five years ago or not," I answered with a sigh. "I highly doubt that she also knew that Luna saw it happen."

"You're probably right," he replied, running a hand through his hair. "I'll have Filius summon her now then; don't want to give her any extra time to go at Luna," he added when I looked surprised that he was taking action so immediately.

I nodded and he came forward, giving me a chaste kiss and gently caressing Aradia's tuft of hair for a moment before he left.

Before long another knock sounded on my door. I kissed Aradia on her forehead, placing her back in her crib while calling for the visitor to enter. When I turned around it was to find myself face-to-face with Umbridge.

"What can I do for you, Professor?" I said politely, mentally patting myself on the back for keeping my temper in check. I sat down behind my desk, gesturing for her to take a seat.

"It's a tiny question, really," she simpered, sitting down daintily. "But you see, I saw a rather silly sight about, oh, twenty minutes ago now? And I was wondering if you could shed some light over it at all."

"I'll do my best," I replied, having absolutely no clue where she was going with this.

"Thank you," she said as though it were a relief. "The rules of Hogwarts clearly state, Professor Black, that magic is not to be performed in the hallways. But earlier this evening I saw a patronus running around! Unfortunately I did not see where it came from or who it was heading for, but I can only think of one student who is able to cast such a spell."

"I see," I said slowly, working very hard to keep the smile off of my face. "Would you mind telling me what this patronus looked like, Professor?"

"What does that matter?" she frowned.

_A professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts, indeed_…

"Every patronus reflects the soul of the caster, Professor. I'll be able to identify the culprit better for you if I know what shape it took."

"Oh, well, it was a dog, you see. A very large, shaggy one at that," she said, folding her arms across her chest. "But the fact remains that it is only Mr. Potter who is able to produce such an advanced spell at this school."

"Except that Har—Mr. Potter's patronus is a stag, Professor Umbridge."

She frowned at me.

"Are you insinuating that there is another student able to perform that advanced magic?"

_Well, I'm pretty certain that Kailey can do it as well…_

"No, Professor, but I am insinuating that perhaps it was not a student," I drew my wand. "_Expecto_ _patronum_."

The silver dog burst out of my wand, loping around the room. He came up and sniffed at my hand before bounding over to Aradia's crib, sniffing at that as well before he disappeared with a loud bark.

"Was that the patronus you saw?"

She managed to get the glare off of her face as I turned back to look at her. She stood up abruptly, giving me a stern look.

"Magic is not to be performed in the hallways," she said, pointing a stubby finger at me.

"By students," I added. "It is allowed for teachers to do so if the need so arises."

"And what need arose that you felt it necessary to send that—that—_thing_ running rampant through the school?"

"It was a messenger patronus and I'm afraid that is confidential. I was counseling a student who wished to report a bully, which is Auror Black's jurisdiction. The patronus was used in order to summon him here."

"So you were cleaning up after that criminal husband of yours?"

"I don't understand you," I growled, carefully placing my wand on my desk.

"How did he miss a student being bullied?"

"It was taking place in the confines of the common room of that student's house. And it was not physical abuse that the student was suffering. I cannot divulge any more information than that without the student's consent. Now, if you are quite done with insulting my husband, you are welcome to leave this office."

This time, she did glare at me.

"You had best be careful, Professor Black," she said, her hand turning the door knob. "Just because I haven't found your skeleton yet does not mean that I won't."

"Is that a threat, Professor? Because according to the staff manual, threats between co-workers are grounds for not only probation, but suspension and/or termination of employment depending on the severity of the situation," I explained angrily.

She disdained to reply to that, slamming the door to my office behind her and causing Aradia to start crying at the shocking noise. I pinched the bridge of my nose for a moment before going over to her and lifting her back up into my arms.

"Hush, love, everything will be alright," I murmured, swaying with her in my arms, unsure if I was comforting her or myself with my words.

* * *

_Kailey's Point of View: _

I twirled my wand around in my hands, pacing back and forth with the pretense of looking at the books on the shelf before me as we waited for the rest of the group to show up to the first meeting. In reality, I was trying to come up with ways to prevent Marietta from physically being able to rat us out. Hermione's jinx was all well and good, but it would only work after the fact, something which I was sorely tempted to point out to her as she pushed her nose into the book she had plucked off of its shelf within moments of entering the Room of Requirement. I glanced over at her and bit back a tolerant smile as she glared at the paragraph before her, apparently not totally understanding what the book was saying.

A glance over at Ron told me that he was checking out the dark detectors in between greeting people as they entered the room. He seemed very interested in the Foe Glass.

Harry was explaining to newcomers what this place was and how we had come to find it. He finished saying something to Alianna and her friend and looked over at me, giving me a nervous smile before coming over to stand beside me as I halted my pacing.

"Nervous?" I asked quietly as he reached me.

"A bit," he admitted after a moment. "But I was just thinking, since you already know pretty much everything that I do that you could help me?"

"You mean with examples and stuff? Alright, but don't you dare use your disarming charm at its fullest!" I mock-threatened, pointing a finger at him sternly.

He cocked his head to the side, considering.

"I think you could manage it," he said thoughtfully.

"No way, you use it on me and I use my reductor curse on you."

He looked considering.

"And I won't help you in potions anymore."

He blanched.

"Fine, I won't use it at full strength," he surrendered, putting both hands up defensively.

I laughed and looked back to where everyone was now set up, chattering with their neighbors. Glancing at Harry, I saw him gulp and grabbed his hand for a moment. He looked at me and I smiled, squeezing his hand once before letting go and going to take a seat beside Hermione.

She snapped her book shut as I sat down beside her, looking up at Harry attentively just as he locked the door to the room with a click.

Before two words were out of his mouth, Hermione had raised her hand. He looked at her strangely for a moment and I suppressed a snigger.

"What Hermione?"

"We should elect a leader. Officially, I mean," she said importantly.

"Harry's our leader," Cho said quickly.

"All in favor of Harry as leader?" I called out before anyone could make any other comments, turning slightly to see that everyone had raised their hands. "All opposed?" Every hand dropped.

"Thanks, now, we should—what Hermione?" he nearly groaned at the sight of her hand in the air again.

"We need a name. We're all from different years and houses so I think having a name would give us a sense of unity," she stated matter-of-factly.

A few names were tossed around before Ginny suggested Dumbledore's Army.

"All in favor of Dumbledore's Army say aye!" I called out again.

There was a discordant chorus of 'aye's' and I nodded, looking at Hermione.

"Satisfied?" I asked with a slight smirk, though I kept it quiet.

"Quite," she answered, blatantly ignoring my sarcasm as she wrote out the words 'Dumbledore's Army' across the top of the parchment that listed all of our names.

"Let's get practicing then, shall we?" Harry suggested before Hermione could think of raising her hand again. "I was thinking we could begin with the disarming spell; _Expelliarmus_. It's basic, but very useful and—"

"Come off it. How is a second-year spell going to help anyone against You-Know-Who?" Smith sneered from the back of the room, between Cho (who glared at him) and Ernie Macmillan (who edged himself away from him very slightly).

I scowled at him as well before looking back at Harry. If you didn't notice how his breathing had shifted, he would have seemed very calm.

"That was the spell that saved my life last June. Course, if you think you don't need to learn something so easy, you can go ahead and leave," he stated quietly at first, but defiantly in the end. "Right then, now I know some of us here haven't seen it used in a duel," his eyes flickered towards his younger cousin briefly, though she stuck her tongue out at him and made the corners of his mouth twitch for a moment. "So, Kailey, if you'd come up here?"

I heaved myself off of the ground and came to stand up front, placing myself ten paces away from him, tossing my wand into my right hand as I did so.

"We'll just show you what it can do if used properly," he continued.

"Wait just a second," I said as he took up his stance. He relaxed and looked at me in confusion. "You're disarmer when used properly is going to send me flying into that wall," I continued, gesturing behind me. "Can I at least have a second to make the room put some cushioning up?"

He rolled his eyes at me and some of the others laughed, though some (like Smith) looked skeptical. Behind me, meanwhile, sprouted what looked like soft, downy pillows from the wall. With a satisfied nod, I turned back to face Harry.

I took a deep breath and nodded, not bothering to get myself into a defensive stance as I braced myself for the impact.

"_Expelliarmus_!"

The spell hit and my wand was ripped from my hand with a jolt and I went soaring backwards into the wall with such a force that I was fairly certain the entire room heard the 'puff' sound that the pillows made as I slid to the floor. I rubbed the back of my neck as the others broke out into applause. Harry came forward and helped me to my feet, handing me back my wand once I was steady.

"Of course," he called out and the clapping died out. "That wasn't very realistic. You're opponent isn't going to stand still just for you to disarm them. But we can work on that bit later. For now I think we should pair off and practice learning the spell."

"You owe me," I muttered as chattering resumed while everyone paired up. "And I thought we agreed you wouldn't go all out?"

He smirked at me. "I didn't."

I rolled my eyes at him and shoved him. "Show off."

"I'll let you show off sometime then, how's that?"

A few meetings later, the opportunity arose.

"Alright," he called, getting everybody to halt their conversations. It was our third meeting and people were beginning to mingle with houses other than their own now. "We're going to add a new spell tonight. Fifth years, we learned it in September so you should all already be familiar with it. It's the reductor curse."

I grinned; it was my favorite.

"What's the reductor curse?" called Lizzie from her seat next to Alianna.

"It's used to blow things up, like walls or something in your way," Harry explained.

"Or the grounds of Hogwarts if you're angry enough, right Kailey?" Fred called out, causing some of the others to snigger.

"Yep," I chirped, and the sniggers turned to laughs. "Is it time for my payback, show off?" I added, turning to look at Harry with a teasing grin.

"If you must," he replied, bowing his head and gesturing for me to come and stand beside him again. "But please don't break the castle."

This statement enticed more laughter.

I rolled my eyes at him and took out my wand. After a moment, the room supplied me with a very large block of stone along with a transparent shield to block everyone else from any fallout from the spell. I took up my stance and imagined Voldemort's face on the stone, unsurprised when it appeared there as a muggle photograph. Gasps from the other side of the shield let me know that the others could see it too.

"_REDUCTO_!" I shouted, feeling a brief tingling sensation in my arm and fingers as the bolt of light exploded from the tip of my wand.

The photograph ignited for a split second before the blast collided with the stone, leaving nothing but dust and ashes behind as well as a scorch mark on the wall behind where the stone had been. After a brief moment of shocked silence, the DA broke out into applause. I smiled, gave a nod of my head before commanding the room to fix the scorch mark on the wall.

Everyone broke off into small groups. Some of the older students practiced the reductor curse once or twice before going back to the previous spells. Some paired off and held quick mock duels with younger students watching in between casting their own reductor curses. I watched Harry for a moment as he fixed something in Parvati's wand movements before she cast the curse at the table full of Sneakoscopes; all that was left behind was a pile of dust.

"Why couldn't you have fixed this earlier?" she asked, though she was grinning widely as her twin gave her a confused look before going back to trying it again for herself.

He laughed at her and moved on to help Alexis and Colin. I smiled as he got the two of them to quiet down so that he could understand what was going on better. He really was turning out to be a great teacher.

"Oi, Kailey!" Fred called and I looked up just in time to see the orange light of an Impediment Jinx barreling towards me.

"_Protego_!" I shouted, slashing my wand out in front of me.

The orange light collided with my spell before shooting back towards George, who had missed Lee when the latter had ducked. George flattened himself to the ground and those behind him dodged to the side and the jinx crashed into the wall behind them.

My arm sagged in relief and I grinned slightly, shaking my head when George tried to apologize.

"At least we know I've got reflexes," I replied, heading over to join them. "But I want the winner."

* * *

_Keena's Point of View: _

I woke up one morning, very late in October, with a feeling of great foreboding. I inhaled sharply in surprise at Aradia's cry, sitting up in unexplainable fright. My sudden movements caused Sirius to jump awake with a slight curse.

"What is it, Keena?" he asked, looking over at me, his usual morning grogginess superseded by his concern.

"I don't know…I just…" I trailed off, throwing back the covers so that I could get to Aradia before she could really work up a fuss. I barely registered that Sirius was following me until the door to her room flew open before I had reached the handle.

I didn't hesitate as I rushed over to her crib and lifted her up, cradling her to my chest. I sighed in relief with a simple stroke of the back of my forefinger was all that was needed to calm the distressed baby. I felt Sirius' hand on my shoulder and I turned to face him, letting him take me in his arms as I shuddered.

"What's wrong?" he asked, gently rubbing his hands up and down my back keeping up our embrace, though it was loose so that we didn't hurt the baby.

"I just woke up all of a sudden," I answered shakily. "I don't know why."

"What day is it today?" he asked quietly after a moment of silence.

I closed my eyes, realizing that the date must have been the cause for my abrupt wakefulness. I leaned my face closer to Sirius, inhaling his scent to comfort myself. He kissed the top of my head. Sighing, I pulled away and looked up at him.

"Will you be alright to go to the office?" he asked gently.

"Don't have much of a choice do I? Umbridge is looking for any excuse at this point and I don't intend to hand her one," I replied softly. "We'll just have to hope nothing happens today…for once."

We readied ourselves for the day so quickly that Sparky wasn't finished getting Aradia ready before we were done. She began apologizing profusely.

"It's fine, Sparky, really," I said over her. "She's dressed and as long as I can bring her pacifier with us to the Great Hall, she'll be fine until we get to my office."

"Sparky is very sorry, Mistress Keena, I is being faster starting now, I is," she said quickly. "I is being a good house elf to my little miss for my mistress."

"You are, Sparky," Sirius assured her. "You've been doing a very good job for us. We're both just a little out of sorts today is all."

"Oh, I is knowing, Master Sirius, I is remembering all of the stories the older house elves is telling on this day every year. Is Mistress Keena wanting Sparky to keep the little miss preoccupied in the office today?"

"That would be a great help," I admitted, blowing out a breath of air.

And so when I arrived to the office it was to find Sparky had reorganized my desk so that it was actually recognizable. In addition, she had enlarged Aradia's crib into a play pen so that she could be inside it with her the entire day.

The students flowed into and out of my office all day as usual. I was beginning to lose my nerves around the time the last bell of the day rang. I sat back and stretched, glancing over to see Sparky patiently taking her ear out of Aradia's firm grip.

"Little miss must not be taking Sparky's ear for how will Sparky hear when little miss cries if she has no ears to hears with?"

I smiled and turned back to the paper I was looking over for a seventh year Slytherin on Herbology. It was very thorough and well written, but I had seen his grades over the years from Sprout and the two didn't seem to coincide even though he was one of the few Slytherins who never got detentions or points off for misbehavior or bullying.

_I'll have to tell Pomona that he's holding out on her…maybe assign more essays, he seems to be more comfortable with the subject when it's being privately graded…_

That's when the knock sounded on my door. It was soft, unassuming, which meant it couldn't be my husband, my daughter or even my nephew. Umbridge would have burst in before I had even finished that thought. Anyone else who would come calling would probably knock a bit louder. Even a nervous student would have knocked a second time by now.

I took a deep breath as the feeling of fear that I had had that morning returned full force.

"Come in," I called softly, knowing that he had heard me just fine.

Dumbledore entered, closing the door behind him gently.

"I have summoned Sirius, Severus and Minerva. I hope you do not mind that I have chosen your office for our place to meet, but I thought we might use the guise of a problem student in the case of unwanted visitors."

I gulped, nodding slowly and looking back over to the play pen where Sparky was staring at me, waiting to be told to leave.

"Sparky, when the others arrive, could you please take Aradia back to her room?"

Sparky frowned.

"Mistress Keena is wishing Sparky to use house elf magic with the baby?" she asked doubtfully.

"Will it harm her?"

"No, Mistress, no," she said quickly. "But Sparky is always being told…it is not mattering, Sparky will keep the little miss safe for her mother and father."

"Thank you," I whispered, turning back to face Dumbledore, noticing as he drew his wand to add more chairs in front of my desk.

I stood and moved myself to one of the end seats that he drew up, placing my elbow on the armrest and putting my face in my hand.

"Keena, you may stay behind your desk," he said softly.

"No, sir, you may sit there; I have a feeling I'll want to be close to Sirius for this."

He made no reply.

**Is that too mean of me to make a cliffy? Oh well, I wanted to do something for Halloween (did you ever notice that nothing happened in canon 5****th**** year on Halloween?). Reviews will bring chapter 15 up faster!**

**:-D**


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter Fifteen: Discovered

**Disclaimed**

**Please enjoy!**

_Keena's Point of View: _

Sirius entered my office last, muttering an apology as he took his seat beside me. Dumbledore, on the other hand, hadn't seemed to hear him as he lifted his wand and cast a silencing spell around the door before locking it. I took Sirius' hand in mine, hoping for some comfort.

Dumbledore settled in his seat, laying his wand on my desk and folding his hands as he regarded the four of us. My eyes flickered between Snape, who looked more annoyed than anything, and McGonagall, who, despite her calm demeanor, was folding and unfolding the end of her sleeve between her fingers.

"What I have to tell you is not strictly negative and I beg of you all to remember that before I continue," he began, his eyes resting on me and Sirius a trifle longer than on the other two. "I have just received an owl from a friend within the Ministry alerting me to the fact that the Minister himself was informed that James and Lily Potter are in fact alive. We do not know what the Minister's reaction will be as of this moment, but as I see it there are only two reactions he could have. The first, and perhaps more fortunate at this present time, would be if he reacted with the same zeal that this news is as false as is the idea of Voldemort's return. If this is the case, then our friends in question have agreed to begin arrangements to come out of hiding."

"How likely is it that he doesn't trust wherever his information came from?" McGonagall asked. "As a matter of fact, how did he discover this to begin with?"

"My friend was not yet privy to the discovery as of yet, though I have been promised to be kept closely informed."

"Who at the Ministry has told you this? Can they be trusted?" Snape asked softly.

"Undoubtedly," the headmaster replied. "But for this person's sake I must divulge no more to you than that."

Snape nodded and said no more.

"And the second reaction that the Minister could have?" Sirius pressed when no one else asked.

"He could believe the story," Dumbledore replied simply. "I doubt he would react with anger seeing as Lily and James have done nothing illegal by their absence."

"They left their one year old son to fend for himself with muggles," I stated bluntly. "Even if it wasn't illegal, they will be considered guilty by public opinion."

"You can't know that," Snape replied, rolling his eyes.

"I certainly received plenty of hate mail for not taking him in with me. Do you really think they won't suffer repercussions at least as bad as I did?" I asked coldly. "But if he doesn't react with anger, what will he react with, Professor?"

"Maybe with fear; if those two have been able to hide themselves from the entire world for fourteen years, how could he deny Voldemort being capable of doing so?" Sirius replied, glancing at Dumbledore for a moment. "Though that could lead into anger, couldn't it?"

"It could," Dumbledore allowed. "But so long as none realize that James and Lily did die at one point and were brought back to life afterwards, I do not think there will be too many negative results."

"But you don't know for sure," I pointed out. "Will this story end up in the _Prophet_, do you think?"

"Only if Fudge believes it to be the truth, in which case I would suggest talking to Harry about this immediately."

"I don't want to worry him unless we know for sure about what Fudge will say to this," I replied, shaking my head. "He's not had an easy time coming to grips with them coming back to begin with; if he's having to worry all of a sudden about what the press is saying…"

"But you know he hates being the last to know these things," Sirius pointed out quietly, his expression tense. "I'd rather he worry than be ambushed by a bunch of Slytherins in the hallway."

"His own housemates are likely enough to do the same," Snape pointed out sourly. "They won't see it as anything more than curiosity."

"But they won't bully him with it," McGonagall answered defensively.

"Let's say for a moment that things take on a worst case scenario; that someone somehow figures out that entire story. What will they do to all of us?" Sirius asked before the two heads could start a match over whose house was better.

Dumbledore sighed tiredly, running a hand down his beard for a moment as he considered his answer.

"Keena would likely be arrested for performing untested, and therefore illegal, magic," he began but I cut him off.

"It wasn't untested, just unreported," I said quickly. "We knew the incantation worked before I used it on them and I was still under contract with the Spell Inventions Division both times I used it anyway. Harry was born after the backlash hit Lily. And then Remus and I went to St. Mungo's to find Amanda to get her opinion on it. When we got there, it was to find out that Neville Longbottom had just died in the birthing department."

"Longbottom? He's been—?"

"Dead, yes, but I performed the spell on him and obviously it worked," I answered before McGonagall could finish her question.

"Very well, then obviously we could fight through those charges if they arose. But I would hate for it to become public knowledge that you know such a spell."

"The trial probably wouldn't be allowed to become public anyway; the Department of Mysteries wouldn't allow it."

"What else could go wrong though? Would we lose custody of any of the kids?" Sirius asked, bringing us back on topic.

"Not your daughters by any means, but there would probably be a hearing regarding Harry's return to his parents, just to prove that they are still capable of caring for him."

"But in the wizarding world you can't take a child away from the parents unless there is undeniable proof of abuse or dangerous extenuating circumstances."

"I believe one could argue there are dangerous extenuating circumstances," Snape commented dryly. "His mother works with potions and once it comes to light that she was the creator of the Aconite Solution, they will know that she had to have access to werewolf blood for testing purposes. Since when is that considered a safe situation?"

"She didn't have custody of him when that was going on, though," Sirius argued. "We did."

"And you lived with a werewolf, or did he move under a different tree and I didn't hear about it?"

"His transformation nights took place elsewhere," I said before Sirius could reply, giving his hand a firm squeeze to settle him. "Besides, he has a right to privacy and unless the court dug very deeply they wouldn't even know about him."

"But getting back to the topic at hand," McGonagall spoke up. "Would the other two be given charges of any other sort?"

We all looked back at Dumbledore, who had his eyes closed in thought.

"There is the possibility that they get into trouble for not revealing that Peter Pettigrew was the true traitor and that he was loose—is loose—for the past fourteen years now. It would be a slight stretch, but they could suffer penalties for 'aiding' a murderer by neglecting to inform the authorities about him."

"Tell that to my brother, we'll see how he reacts to 'aiding' that bastard," I replied, trying to keep the snap out of my voice. "Besides, I _did_ inform several authorities."

I didn't feel as though the apology in Dumbledore's eyes as he gazed at me said enough.

Our group disbanded, Snape claiming he needed to go grade potions while McGonagall stated the fifth years' essays on Vanishment were in need of dire assistance. Dumbledore simply bid us a silent goodbye, leaving Sirius and I in my office alone.

"We should have known," I said softly, shaking my head.

"It isn't your fault," he stated immediately. "No more than it is mine that Voldemort found them when we switched secret keepers."

I sighed, shaking my head for a moment.

"Think that'll—"

I was interrupted by the sound of tapping on my window. Sirius frowned, went forward and opened the window to let the large, arrogant owl into the room. He landed on my desk and stuck his leg out for me to take the black envelope from his leg before flying off without hesitation.

"A black letter?" Sirius asked, frowning when he noticed my trembling hands. "What's a black letter mean?"

"It means it's from the Department of Mysteries."

* * *

_Kailey's Point of View: _

"This is strange," Ron commented as we sat around a table in the common room. A group of first years had taken over our couches by the fire, which was quite frustrating.

"What's strange?" Hermione asked without looking up from her Ancient Runes assignment.

"Nothing happened today," Ron replied with a shrug. "Unless we don't know about it yet?" he added quietly, glancing around before he looked curiously at me.

"No, nothing was supposed to happen today," I answered softly, looking away from the other three and scratching something out of the notes I was taking for Charms.

"Why is that strange?" Hermione asked and I looked up to see her frowning between me and Ron before an expression of understanding on Harry's face caught her eye. "What?"

"It's Halloween," he shrugged. "Something always happens on Halloween."

"But I thought something had happened today," Hermione's frown deepened. "Didn't any of you notice the way Sirius and Keena were behaving in the Great Hall? This afternoon they were fine but then during dinner they kept glancing at each other and at you, Harry."

Harry frowned in return and looked at me in confusion. But all I could do was shake my head and shrug.

"I haven't got…a…oh, no."

"What?"

"That night that…_Prongs_ came in the fire. How do we know that _she_ didn't see him?"

By mutual consent, we had decided to make use of James' nickname when talking about the visit he had made that night. If she had thought she'd seen him, we didn't need to egg the rumors on by talking about him.

"Should we tell them what we know?" Hermione asked and I went to check my watch before remembering I had failed to replace it after the second task last year, so I grabbed Harry's arm and looked at his watch instead.

"When are you going to get your own watch?" Harry asked, though he didn't move to pull his arm out of my grip.

"We could go now; we've got another two hours before curfew," I said instead of answering him.

"Not to mention we could bring the map and cloak just in case we're there longer than expected," Ron added with a nod to Harry, who nodded in reply as he stood to go and grab the necessary items.

Hermione sighed and we all froze as we packed up our homework. We turned and looked at her in confusion.

"It's just this was the first night where we were actually all doing our own homework and really getting it done," she said in response to our silent question.

Harry and I exchanged long-suffering looks while Ron snorted and shook his head.

Within minutes, the four of us had trooped down to Sirius and Keena's quarters and were debating over whether or not we should really be doing this. Harry wasn't sure that their behavior at dinner necessarily meant something bad had happened just because it was Halloween. Ron was on the exact opposite fence. Hermione was caught in the middle, though she leaned towards Ron more than she did Harry because she was under the impression that he was just avoiding whatever was going on without even knowing what 'it' was. I, on the other hand, was being cautiously neutral. This, apparently, meant that I was the one who should knock on their door.

The door opened and I was perplexed for a moment when there was no one standing in front of me.

"I is being down here, Miss Kailey."

I looked down at the squeaky voice to see Sparky gazing up at me with her wide eyes.

"Hi Sparky, are Sirius or Keena in?" I asked, coming in when she stepped aside to allow the four of us to enter.

"They is being in their room," she said softly, glancing at the closed door. It had a faint, glowing gold light surrounding the doorframe. "They is asking not to be disturbed, but Sparky is thinking that if Master Harry is wanting to speak with his godparents they is not minding…"

"Would you mind just letting them know that we're here?" Hermione asked politely.

The little elf nodded, closed the door behind us with a snap of her fingers before disappearing with a soft pop. We stood a little awkwardly for a moment before the light surrounding the doorframe diminished.

Sirius poked his head out of the door.

"We'll be right with you, go ahead and take a seat," he said before pulling his head back and shutting the door.

After a round of traded glances, we made our way over to the couch and chairs. I sat down between Harry and Ron on the couch while Hermione took the big armchair. Harry nudged me slightly with his leg and I looked up at him.

"What?"

"D'you think we interrupted something?" he asked uncomfortably.

Both of my eyebrows shot up and I could feel my face heating up slightly but before I could reply in a weak negative, the door to their room opened a second time.

All four of us turned to watch Keena and Sirius approach, him looking at her warily while she stared at anything but Harry, her eyes slightly red. I nudged Harry's leg and he leaned towards me.

"No, I don't," I answered, feeling much more confident about it than I would have moments before.

"What do you need to talk to us about?" Sirius asked as he and Keena took the loveseat.

"Well, we were in the common room doing our homework," Harry began, glancing around at the three of us. "When Ron said something about it being Halloween and nothing had happened yet today. But then Hermione said that she'd noticed the two of you acting strange at dinner and at first we didn't think anything of it—" Hermione huffed slightly at that. "—but then Kailey remembered something that happened not too long ago."

Keena's eyes narrowed and she glanced at Sirius before nodding for Harry to continue.

"Well, er, Prongs paid us a visit and, well, we don't know how she found out about it—"

"The floos are being watched," I inserted.

"Oh, well, then I guess we know how she found out," Harry muttered. "But either way, we think she saw him."

"You're absolutely positive it was…her?" Keena pressed, her voice providing the confirmation that the redness of her eyes had first implied.

"Yes," I replied with a nod. "Granted, it shouldn't have been him in the fire, but, well, that doesn't matter now does it?"

Keena nodded slightly before wiping a hand across her face.

"It certainly makes more sense," she muttered under her breath.

"What makes more sense?" Harry asked suspiciously.

But Keena didn't remove her face from her hand and Sirius wrapped his arm around her shoulder.

"The Minister has been informed that your parents are alive, Harry," he stated quietly. "We're not sure yet how this will all play out, we don't necessarily know that anything truly bad will come of this yet," he seemed to be saying this to his wife as much as to his godson.

Harry didn't seem convinced and I felt him tense up beside me, his hands clutching into fists around his robes.

"The only way we'd know that for sure," Harry started, his voice shaking slightly. "Would have been if they had just never left in the first place."

"That's probably true," Sirius agreed. "But that's the difference between 'would' and 'did'. We will deal with the consequences as they come."

"What are we supposed to say?" I asked, bumping my leg against Harry's as he seemed to tighten up even more.

"Nothing," Keena said quietly. "Nothing at all at least not until we know exactly what we're in for."

"So I'm just supposed to pretend that I don't care?" Harry snapped, pulling his body as far from mine as he could. "That'll bloody well help in convincing the school I'm not mad!"

"Harry—"

"Just never mind, it doesn't matter," he snapped before Hermione could finish whatever it was she had been about to say. He stood and swept out of the room, closing the door with a tight snap behind him.

The three of us looked at one another before I stood.

"I'll go find—"

"No, Kailey, let him be," Sirius said, shaking his head and I sat down slowly. "You three are going to have to help him with this. It isn't going to be easy, leastwise not until everything has settled."

"Has the Ministry said anything to either of you?" Hermione asked after a tense silence.

Sirius threw a cautious glance at Keena before turning back to Hermione to answer.

"The Department of Mysteries sent Keena a letter earlier asking her to go in for a meeting. We're not entirely sure whether or not it has to do with the Aconite Solution or—"

"For Merlin's sake, Sirius, you know damn well that that isn't all they'll want to 'discuss'," the quotations marks were audible in her voice, even as it shook. "They're going to ask me exactly what happened tonight fourteen years ago and no matter what I'll say, they're going to have me trapped. And before this past year, I would have been able to take any consequence for James and Lily, even time in Azkaban if I truly had to, but now?" she halted her desperate words as if realizing suddenly that the three of us were still there.

"We'll get Harry to calm down," I said quietly, standing up again and hearing Ron and Hermione do the same. "And we'll keep him away from Umbridge too if we can."

Keena nodded distractedly, running a shaking hand through her hair while Sirius murmured a quiet 'good night' to us.

Once we were a good distance from their quarters Ron spoke up.

"D'you reckon we should go and find him?"

"If we had the map I'd say we should," Hermione replied softly, glancing around for a moment. "But we don't exactly know where he's likely to be right now; it's getting late after all."

"I don't know about that I can only think of a few places he'd go," I disagreed slowly. "Hagrid's is out since he isn't back yet and obviously he's not with Sirius and Keena since he just ran off from there. I doubt he'd go to the Quidditch pitch since it's already dark out there and he'd have to go all the way back to the common room to get his broom in the first place."

"But then where else does that leave?" Ron asked after an exchanged look with Hermione.

"I'd bet either the Room or the Owlery," I answered with a shrug.

"The Owlery?"

"Yeah, who was he friends with before coming here?" I asked, thinking the answer was obvious.

"You," Ron answered with a smirk.

"Fine," I rolled my eyes. "But who else?"

"Did he even remember to bring Hedwig? He forgot her last year," Hermione pointed out.

"Yeah, he brought her this year," Ron answered. "But why would he go there? It's not like owls talk back."

"Maybe he'd be in the kitchens then," Hermione shrugged. "He could be talking to one of the house elves," she added defensively to Ron's eye roll and my giggle. "Fine, I'll check the kitchens. Ron, you go to the Room and see if he's there and Kailey you can check the Owlery."

I shrugged.

"Fine with me, we'll all meet back in the common room, I assume?" I replied matter-of-factly.

"Yes, that sounds like a good plan," Hermione nodded.

We split up from there and in a matter of minutes I was in the chilly Owlery. I sighed quietly, my nostrils filling with the scent of owl and straw. I wandered around the rows of owls, my footsteps echoing a little beneath the sounds of soft hoots. I reached the end of the rows and frowned to myself. Turning around and going back to the previous row I saw something odd. It was Hedwig. She was half out of sight, as though someone had hastily tried to cover her with an invisibility cloak.

Carefully hiding a smirk, I slowly walked towards the half-hidden owl.

"If you wanted to be left alone all you had to do was tell me to go away," I said once I was close enough that I could whisper it just in case there were eaves droppers.

"Like you'd listen," Harry's disembodied voice grumbled.

"I'll give you that," I replied with a shrug. "You wanna let Hedwig out from under there? I can't imagine she appreciates it."

One exasperated sigh later, Harry removed the cloak, tossing it at me so that he could fix his glasses without having to put it onto the floor. Hedwig gave an affectionate hoot, nipped at Harry's hand, and flew back up to one of the perches above us.

"I don't want to hear it."

I looked back at him, folding the cloak around my arms, raising an eyebrow at him. He scowled and looked away, kicking at some of the mess on the floor.

"Hear what?"

"That I should be thankful they're alive. That I should keep my head down until this is taken care of. That I shouldn't act rashly or rise to anybody's bait," he listed off, practically spitting the last of it. "That I should stop acting like such a victim. That I should grow up and act my age."

"Teenagers are supposed to be moody brats," I pointed out, walking the last few steps to stand by the wide open window, leaning against it and looking outside. "You are a victim. You wouldn't be human if you never rose to any bait at all, though I don't advise it. You probably should keep your head down; Umbridge'll take any advantage she can against your family. And of course you should be thankful that they're alive," I glanced at him and gave a look for a moment before looking back out the window.

I heard him sigh and walk forward to stand next to me. He leaned against the window and I could see him looking at me out of the corner of my eye.

"I don't want to be a victim," he stated defiantly.

"Then be a survivor," I said as though it were the obvious solution.

"How?"

"Keep doing what you're doing with the DA," I shrugged, somehow unsurprised when our arms collided slightly. "And you could stand to appreciate what you have a little more and not focus so much on what you missed."

He sighed again.

"How am I supposed to act like nothing's going on?" he muttered.

"I haven't quite worked that out myself," I admitted looking up at him with a slight smile. "We could always just be more antisocial than usual."

"That shouldn't be too hard," he nodded, a bitter smile on his face. "Everyone thinks I'm mad already after all."

I raised an eyebrow at him.

"Alright, a lot of people think I'm mad."

"But…?" I pressed, grinning when he groaned at my tone.

He bumped shoulders with me.

"But not everyone," he complied and I smiled, looking back out the window. "How do you do that?"

"Do what?"

"Get me to stop feeling sorry for myself."

"It's a secret," I said solemnly.

"Would you tell me?" he asked, leaning forward to try and get into my line of vision. "Then maybe I could get myself to stop feeling sorry for myself. If that made any sense…"

"No, I get it," I answered. "But if I told you then you wouldn't need me anymore."

"Well, maybe after some practice but I might be lousy at learning this," he suggested slowly. "Please, Kailey?"

I grinned.

"It's easy; just tell yourself the truth."

"I thought I was before," he frowned.

"No, you were giving yourself a pity party, Potter."

He looked at me for a long moment, his eyes clouded with thought.

"And you were spouting silliness, Snape."

I looked at him for a brief second before I started laughing.

"Who's in there?" Filch's voice echoed from a few rows down.

I jumped and Harry gave a quiet curse, pulling the cloak from out of my arms and throwing it over us. I pulled his wrist closer to my face so that I could read his watch; we were five minutes past curfew. We stayed still as Filch's footsteps echoed through the room. He glanced down our row before moving on, Mrs. Norris hot on his heels. After two minutes of snooping, he declared that the noise must have been Peeves and ordered Mrs. Norris to follow him to go and make sure no students were out of bed.

Harry and I carefully avoided looking at each other until we reached the common room. After he removed the cloak, we looked at one another and burst out laughing again. Ron and Hermione exchanged confused looks in front of the fire before shrugging and returning to their homework.

* * *

_Keena's Point of View: _

"Why Keena dear, do you have a moment?"

I froze in the hallway as I walked to my office. Aradia, thankfully, was with Sparky already in the office. Taking a deep breath, I turned to face Umbridge.

"Yes, Professor Umbridge?" I replied as civilly as I was able.

"I just wanted to inform you that, in light of your recent legal troubles, I'm afraid that I have no choice but to place you on probation as the students' tutor," she smiled in what I was sure she thought was an embarrassed fashion.

"Legal trouble, Professor?" I inquired politely.

"Oh, heavens, you haven't had the letter from the Department of Mysteries yet? I assumed it would have reached you by now," she giggled in her unnatural way.

"I've received the letter, but it made no mention of my being in trouble," I answered softly, trying not to betray any emotion, much less my fear.

But her face flashed in confusion for a moment.

"It—" she paused to clear her throat. "It didn't?"

"No, Professor, but I'm afraid that I can't say anything else on the matter," I said, a feeling of triumph bubbling up inside of me, adding a slight shrug for effect. "Once an Unspeakable, always an Unspeakable, you know."

"Now see here, Professor Black," she demanded, her tone wavering slightly. "I am Senior Undersecretary to the Minister of Magic and Hogwarts High Inquisitor!"

"And as a Professor I do not dispute that," I replied with a slight, respectful bow. "But as an Unspeakable, only the Minister himself has clearance and not even full clearance at that. Though I find I must ask, will the case of my probation be lifted if there is no legal trouble with my old department?"

She turned a disturbing shade of puce, turned on her heel and marched away.

I was able to wait until I arrived in my office before I burst out laughing, causing Sparky to look at me with some mild concern and Aradia to shriek with delight.

"Mistress is being very happy today," Sparky beamed. "This is making Sparky happy too; littlest miss is always being gladder when her mummy is happy."

"Well let's hope I stay that way, then," I replied, taking a seat behind my desk. "We'll find out at the end of the week; that's when I go to the Department of Mysteries. You're sure you don't want help from another elf while Sirius and I are gone?"

"If Sparky is needing help, Sparky is having her friends from Hogwarts, but Sparky is not going to be needing help with the littlest miss; she is a good baby. Sparky was thinking that Mistress was saying Professor McGonagall is having the littlest miss in her roomses if Mistress and Master is being gone longer than they is thinking?"

"Yes, that's the plan," I nodded. "Hopefully that isn't what has to happen, though."

"Sparky is not thinking it is, Mistress; Mistress is good and smart, she will be coming back home to Hogwarts," Sparky said with a confident nod that sent her ears flapping.

I smiled slightly, wishing I shared the elf's confidence. Alianna couldn't stop glancing up at the head table for the past few meals with concerned looks. My only solace in her silence to me and Sirius at this point was that it meant she wasn't too worried about our upcoming visit to the Ministry or that she hadn't seen it at all. I couldn't decide which one I'd prefer more.

**Shorter than usual, I know, but this felt like a good place to break it off for the moment. Hope your fall is enjoyable! Next will be number 16!**

**:-D**


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter Sixteen: Speaking and Silencing

**Disclaimed as usual.**

**I'm assuming that if you're reading this that you're enjoying it, but you know what they say about assuming…**

_Kailey's Point of View: _

It was odd not seeing Sirius or Keena at the staff table on the morning of November fourth. In fact, it was the first thing that I noticed upon entering the Great Hall. I glanced at Harry, but he and Ron were discussing something about their latest Quidditch practice and if either of them noticed the oddity, they didn't show it. That changed, however, when a good portion of the hall silenced themselves once the four of us had taken our seats at Gryffindor table.

I frowned and glanced down the table to where Fred and George were sitting; they were staring in shock at the story they were reading in the _Prophet_. I looked down the other side of the table where Ginny, Alexis, DJ and Jeremy were all crowded to see that they had similar looks on their faces to the twins. Looking over to Ravenclaw table, I spotted Alianna explaining something to Samantha who seemed very confused as well.

"Hermione, you still get the _Prophet_, right?" I asked quietly, uncomfortably aware of how many people seemed to be trying to listen in.

"It should be here—oh, here it is," she said just as a large gray owl landed in between the syrup and the pumpkin juice.

Ron and Harry stopped talking across from us, staring at the headline on the paper that Hermione was holding.

"_The Potters Live?_" even though Hermione whispered it, it seemed like she had shouted it. She looked up at the rest of us, but Ron and I were both staring at Harry. His expression was somewhere between guilty excitement and anger. She looked back down and read through the story silently, making little noises under her breath every few moments.

"And the verdict is?" I asked, looking away from Harry to try and read Hermione's expression.

"There isn't one," she muttered, frowning. "Not really; all it says is that there are rumors circulating that there is a possibility of Harry's parents being alive. Fudge refused to comment, though."

"So he doesn't want to admit it, because if he does, then he has to admit the possibility of Voldemort surviving as well," I replied with a shake of my head.

"Did it say anything about the rest of my family?" Harry asked after a pause.

"Nothing direct," Hermione answered, shaking her head. "Just some question as to whether or not Keena has anything to do with it and whether or not you know the truth. It didn't mention your cousins at all."

"At least they'll stay away from Alianna, then," he mumbled before looking down to glare at his plate.

"Yes," Hermione agreed quietly. "There is that to be grateful for."

He took a deep breath and the three of us exchanged nervous looks before turning to focus on our breakfasts.

I glanced up at the ceiling, privately happy to see that the sun was out and shining; it was a good omen, wasn't it?

* * *

_Keena's Point of View: _

I stepped out of the floo at the Ministry, dusting myself off with one hand while accepting Sirius' hand with my other so that I didn't fall over; I hadn't slept well and there was no need to tempt fate when I was dizzy from the trip. I took a deep, steadying breath and tried to fill myself with good thoughts. Easier said than done.

"Well, well, back so soon?" the security guard asked as we approached. He took our wands to inspect. "What's your trouble this time?" he asked with a slight sneer.

"Afraid I can't tell you," I replied, careful to keep the snap out of my voice.

He narrowed his eyes at me, grunting in annoyance before handing Sirius his wand back.

"For your information it is my duty to know—"

"I guarantee you," Sirius paused to squint at the man's nametag. "Eric, is it? Well I can tell you for certain, you do not have the clearance necessary."

Eric grunted and grudgingly handed me my wand back.

"Git," Sirius mumbled under his breath as we turned to make our way down to the Department of Mysteries.

The walk was not long, just indirect. The elevator only took us to the proper floor. From there we had to go through the door at the end of the hall, shut it, and wait for the room to stop itself from spinning around us. I closed my eyes to stop myself from becoming too dizzy and when I opened them again, the doors were surrounding us as innocently as though nothing had happened.

"Which one do we go through?" Sirius asked, confused. He hadn't had the clearance to come down to this department before Azkaban.

"Oh, I just do this," I said, waving my wand in a complicated pattern while thinking _Ostentus portae celatoris_ clearly in my head.

After a brief pause, the doors around us shimmered before every one of them turned a different color and size, each bearing a different rune directly above the handle. I glanced around the room for a moment before heading towards the most slender of the doors. I laid my hand on the handle and waited until the metal beneath my fingers returned to a cool temperature before opening the door wide. This was the only door which had the safeguard that if one opened it too quickly, it would burn your hand.

I looked back at Sirius to see him nod at me before facing forward and heading through the door and into the dungeon like hallway of the Spell Inventions Division. I took a deep breath, feeling strangely calmed by the scents of smoke from misfired or failed spells and curses. Sirius took a half step forward and took my hand in his, giving it a tight squeeze.

"Where to now, love?" he asked softly, despite the empty hallway before us.

"Just this way," I said aloud even though I had meant to say 'straight back and two doors to the left'. Apparently the Unspeakable Tongue-Tying Jinx was still in effect. It was so that no Unspeakable could give away any location within the Department of Mysteries itself.

We arrived at our destination moments later and I knocked sharply on the door, hoping to keep my nerves, which were beginning to return, in check with the fast motion. We were bid to enter and I pulled the door open. I bit back a flashback of the one other time I had seen the inside of the Head of the Department's office. It had been sixteen years since I had seen the former Head lying dead upon the floor in front of his fire, but I could see his wide-eyed, fearful expression just as clearly now as I had then. I cleared my throat unsteadily and stepped inside, feeling Sirius standing directly behind me as the door closed softly behind him.

There were three people aside from the Head, an elderly wizard with a pointed chin, inside of the room. One a sallow-faced man who looked quite bored, another a young, excited looking wizard who held a clipboard and a long-feathered quill, the third was a wizened old witch who was missing a piece of her left ear.

"Professor Black, Auror Black," the Head stated with a nod, gesturing towards the two unoccupied chairs in front of his desk. "So glad you could come on such short notice," his eyes were gleaming despite his grumpy expression. "Allow me to introduce my colleagues; Madame Amser Aevum, Head of the Magical Time Research Division," the old witch grinned jovially at us.

"Dunno if you recognize me, but I was at your godson's hearing in August," she said happily. "Glad he made off alright."

I smiled at her before turning back to the Head as he cleared his throat pointedly.

"Mr. Broderick Bode, one of our more advanced researchers from the Hall of Prophecy," Bode offered a short nod, though the solemn expression on his face did not change. "And this is young Felix Giovanni, the new Head of the newly constructed Potions Inventions Division," Giovanni beamed with pleasure.

"Sorry," Sirius said slowly. "But I'm afraid I didn't catch your name, sir."

The Head raised an eyebrow at him before giving me a look.

"It's a clearance issue, love," I muttered, leaning closer to my husband. "No one but other Department Heads within this section of the Ministry and the Minister himself can know his name."

"Oh," Sirius replied, his eyes widening slightly. "Right, sorry."

"Humph," the old wizard grumbled. "Well, I trust Dumbledore has already found out what it is we wish to discuss with you both and no doubt he meddled—"

"Ignore him; he worships the ground Albus Dumbledore walks upon," Aevum chuckled. "He's probably quite glad to not have to speak the words to you each himself."

"Regardless," the Head interrupted. "Obviously we must discuss this. I have no doubt that you somehow involved your third partner as well, Professor, but seeing as he is currently instrumental in the testing of the Aconite Solution I am unwilling to put a black mark anywhere near his name; those fools who control the rest of this building would dismiss this cure if they knew."

"I'm afraid I do not know what you're implying, exactly, sir," I stated cautiously.

He gave me a don't-be-stupider-than-you-have-to-be look.

"Quite frankly, I do not want the truth to ever go beyond this room. We will concoct a story for the rest of the world right in here," he said matter-of-factly. "Why else would I have brought in these other three? Obviously it was a time-delayed potion that you, Lupin and Potter concocted once you learned of the prophecy made about her son and You-Know-Who."

"And people would believe it too," Giovanni piped up. "Especially once they realize who really invented the Aconite Solution. They don't have to know anything beyond the three of you working together."

"In fact, it will be safer that way," Aevum inserted. "Better to have people thinking a potion revived them than a common place spell."

"You're all assuming that they died at all," Sirius interrupted politely.

There was a short silence during which they all stared at Sirius with considering expressions. Finally, Bode snorted.

"I like the way you think, Black," he stated. "Giovanni, it looks like you've been outsmarted by an Auror."

Giovanni blushed crimson and Sirius raised an eyebrow.

"Alright, alright," the Head grumbled. "So the official story to put out will be that they never died at all, but this potion will be the back-up story should something leak out and it will also be what we tell the Minister. Now, Professor Black, if you would just explain what really happened that night?"

"I need some conditions met first, I'm afraid," I stated softly, though the Head did not seem surprised. "Considering that there have been no ill effects other than this leak, I must insist that my brother and his wife be left totally alone by the Ministry as a whole. My own family as well; that includes Lupin."

"Well, Professor, we don't exactly want people knowing the whole truth of this episode in any case and ill effect on your family or friends would likely be a dead give away," Aevum said before grinning slightly. "If you'll pardon the pun."

The Head and Bode each rolled their eyes at the witch while Giovanni looked as though he'd like nothing better than to snigger.

"Very well," I said slowly, trying to contain my intense relief. "We began our research during our sixth year at Hogwarts and it continued up until July 1980 when we made our break through. It was tested once before then and then it was used twice on Halloween 1981. Each time it was used, it was successful. The effects were instantaneous and the intensity depended upon the relationship the caster shared with the subject. Is there anything else you'd like to know?"

"Isn't that all vague…?" Giovanni trailed off when he realized that the other three Heads as well as myself were staring at him.

"Unless you are expressing a desire to use this particular invention," Bode said slowly in his deep, bored voice. The younger wizard shook his head vigorously. "Then what does it matter?"

"Did you get all of the notes down?" Aevum asked peering towards Giovanni's clipboard. He lifted it to show her. "Very good. Now, Professor, did you name the spell?"

"We called it the Revival Spell," I affirmed with a nod. "It is one time use only and will not work if the soul of the person is stolen by a dementor or if the soul returns to us by some other means first."

"Such as?" the Head pressed.

"Priori Incantatem; otherwise there would have been no death during that tournament," I admitted softly.

Aevum's happy expression slid off and even Bode managed to express surprise. Sirius slid his hand into mine and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"In any case, you seem to have a firm grasp on the safety measures of this spell. However, I am opposed to publishing it at all; Merlin forbid what would happen should it fall into the wrong hands."

"But that's just it," I pointed out, hoping to keep him from making the spell totally illegal. "The spell works best when you truly loved the person you use it on. Voldemort doesn't love anyone so he obviously couldn't use it and if he is unable to, can you really see him allowing his Death Eaters use of it?"

"How do you know it isn't just desire?" Bode argued pointedly. I liked how he didn't object to Voldemort being alive.

"Argue about that later," the Head grumbled. "I want to get this over with; Fudge wants that statement by noon."

"Fudge wants a statement?" Sirius asked sharply.

"Yes, which is why we're inventing this poppycock about the potion," Aevum said, her happy demeanor returning. "What we need to know now is this; are the Potters willing to come out to the open?"

"The Department of Mysteries will protect them from any legal action," Giovanni said quickly when Sirius and I exchanged wary looks. "We'll just tell Fudge that we hid them away to keep our research from being tainted. He'll be caught."

"Meanwhile we'll use your story, Black," the Head continued. "For the public. They weren't dead, but they needed to lie low and Mrs. Potter used her connections with her old Division to keep them hidden in exchange for developing the Aconite Solution."

"Even if he wanted to act, Fudge would be powerless against us," Aevum added brightly.

"So what you're telling me right now is that if Lily and James come out of hiding today, they will be in no danger of any legal backlash whatsoever from the Ministry? At all?" I pressed, leaning forward slightly.

"You have my word, on my magic," the Head stated, inclining his head.

"And our support," Aevum added seriously. "If there is a way to survive using Light magic, I have no doubt that You-Know-Who would be able to find the equivalent in Dark magic."

_If only you knew how right you are…_

"Thank you Madame Aevum," I said aloud. "Is there anything else you wished to tell us?" _Such as who informed Fudge of this and convinced you all that this was worth pursuing..._

"Only to have yourselves prepared; the _Prophet_ is going to have a field day and I would not recommend that the Potters leave wherever it is they are currently staying until this dies down somewhat," the Head said. "And please for Merlin's sake, keep your godson and his friend out of the courtroom."

I frowned but Sirius beat me to it.

"Who, Kailey?"

"Yes, she set herself up on a platter for Lucius Malfoy about a year and a half ago now," he replied irritably. "Just because she wanted to rescue a hippogriff."

"Be fair now," Aevum said, shoving the Head playfully. "She did make a very convincing argument. And you'd been dying to make a fool of Lucius for years."

* * *

_Kailey's Point of View: _

The whispers were the worst part of the next few days.

Umbridge was in a foul mood, which made her classes almost unbearable as she constantly tried pushing Harry's buttons. She was angry that Keena and Sirius had returned from the Ministry with smiles and good news that was followed by a special edition _Prophet_ with one subtle, but very important difference in the headline: _The Potters Live!_

But Umbridge was direct with Harry and, as a result, much easier to ignore for some reason he had been unable to articulate. The whispering in the halls, on the other hand, was riddled with suspicions that Harry had been struggling with ever since finding out his parents were alive along with other ideas that were just plain insulting.

"Why'd they leave him with _muggles_?" "D'you think they really care at all?" "I'd be _**furious**_ if it was me." "I don't think I'd call them _real_ parents. I mean, they weren't there, were they?" "Gotta wonder if they think he's crazy and are just embarrassed." "If they didn't die, then why didn't they stop You-Know-Who from attacking their baby?"

"Quidditch game soon," Ron reminded Harry as a group of Slytherins approached, giving Harry looks ranging from amusement through to anger. "Then we'll see what they want to spend their time talking about."

"Yeah," he agreed shortly, ducking his head as they passed by.

No one had directly come up and asked Harry about his parents, but he had addressed the DA about the situation at the last meeting before the Slytherin versus Gryffindor match.

"I know you're probably all wondering if I knew about my parents, so let's get it all out of the way now," he said before anybody could ask for an explanation. "I found out a year and a half ago, I don't hate them and they didn't leave because they wanted to. Now, let's get to practicing some stunners."

Hermione and I had exchanged looks, shaken our heads, and partnered up before Neville could ask one of us.

The morning of the match arrived and it thankfully gave Harry something to focus on other than his parents; Ron's nerves. Hermione and I entered the Great Hall at the same time as Alexis and Ginny, both of whom were as decked out in Gryffindor colors as we were. It was Alexis who noticed the Slytherins' badges first.

"Why do they have those?" she asked, glancing over at Hermione and me as though we'd know the explanation.

Hermione groaned and I shook my head and sighed.

"Because they're gits," I answered finally. Then I had a sudden burst of inspiration as I caught sight of Luna entering the hall with Alianna and Samantha trailing behind her, giggling about the lion, though each were wearing a bit of red or gold. "I'll see you at the table," I grinned before heading off to meet the Ravenclaw girls.

"Ali, can you do me a favor?" I asked quickly as Luna nodded a hello before continuing towards where Ron and Harry were sitting. She tilted her head to the side in curiosity. "Can you tell Ron that you Saw him doing well today?"

She bit her lip.

"I mean, I can, but…" she trailed off, glancing at the Slytherin table for a moment. "I dunno, Kailey; it'd be a terrible lie."

"It might not end up as one," I replied, totally disregarding the lion roar that suddenly sounded through the hall. "All he needs is a little boost of self-confidence."

She bit her lip again.

"I'll try," she offered with a slight shrug.

I grinned, gave her a quick hug and led them both over to the table, taking a seat beside Hermione when we got there.

"Hey Ron, can't wait to see you do well today," Alianna beamed, looking him in the eye from where she stood as opposed to how she normally was forced to look almost directly up at him. "I mean, I know I've already _Seen_ it once, but it'll be nice to get to cheer you and Harry on," she winked at him, gave Harry a quick hug, and headed off to the Ravenclaw table to sit beside Luna and her lion hat.

Ron stared after her in astonishment.

"Did you hear that?" he hissed, leaning towards us. "She says I'll do well!"

"Well, we do have ears, Ron," I replied with a slight smirk. But he was so excited that he didn't even bother to give me a look of annoyance.

When the Chasers came over to collect their Seeker and Beater, they were ready. Ron's excitement seemed to confuse Harry, who threw me a look that said is-this-really-Ron-? I just grinned and waved good luck to them. Once they were out of earshot, Hermione leaned towards me.

"What are we going to do about those badges?" she murmured, glancing over at the Slytherin table where a box full of them was being passed around.

"I don't know if we can do anything about those, but I do have a plan about the singing," I answered, casting a poisonous look at the snake table.

"Singing?" Hermione groaned, shaking her head. "What singing?"

I winced slightly and gave her a guilty look.

"It's not like I could stop _that_."

She sighed, looking up at the ceiling.

"I suppose you're right. C'mon, I have a feeling we're going to need good seats for this plan of yours," she muttered, shaking her head.

"Well, not just us," I argued thoughtfully. "We could include anyone whose fifth year and up from the DA or Gryffindor in general."

* * *

_Keena's Point of View: _

"I am so glad that the only human interaction we get here is with the students and the rest of the staff," I said to Lily, trying to keep my annoyance out of my tone.

She and James (along with Remus and Tonks) had come to watch the Quidditch match. Students didn't seem to recognize Lily immediately, but once they caught sight of James they couldn't seem to stop staring. And, guilty as I felt for thinking it, I couldn't help but feel that it was better that we had not gotten to the Great Hall before Harry had left for the pitch; it would probably have made him unaccountably nervous.

Lily laughed at my words, looking up from her goddaughter to meet my eyes.

"You should have seen the stares we received on the Knight Bus," she said, shaking her head. "I almost wasn't sure we'd get here on time."

"Except that the driver put our stop at the top of the queue," Tonks inserted with a shake of her head before she changed her face and threw on a thick accent. "Ar, anythin' you be needin' Mrs. Potter! Just go on and say the word!"

I laughed and Lily blushed.

"Notice that he totally ignored James, though," Remus added from behind us, giving James a playful shove. "Guess the Potter charm has finally worn off."

James scoffed.

"Please, I don't think that that's even possible."

"No, but I do think maybe your lovely sister stole some of it and your wife took the rest," Sirius replied, winking at me, though I rolled my eyes.

"Flattery will get you nowhere with me, Sirius," I replied, shaking my head.

James, Sirius and Remus all burst out laughing at that and Tonks and Lily looked at me in curiosity. I frowned and shrugged my shoulders at the other two, though I couldn't keep a small smile from spreading on my face when Aradia began to giggle at the noise the men (if they could be called men for all the maturity they possessed) were making.

"What's so funny?" Tonks asked as we dodged around a group of students who were waiting in line to climb up into the student section.

"It's just," James paused for breath but began laughing again when he caught my annoyed expression. "It's just mum used to say the same thing to Sirius."

I groaned.

"Every girl's worst nightmare; turning into her mother," Lily voiced aloud, though she was chuckling now as well.

We finally reached the top of the teachers' section and found that the only teachers already there were McGonagall (who was giving Lee Jordan a pep talk) and Dumbledore, who held a box of candy that I assumed to contain lemon drops.

James plopped down beside McGonagall, making her jump.

"Morning, Mickey," he said cheerily. "Great day for Quidditch, yeah?"

McGonagall rolled her eyes at him, doing so again when Sirius took the seat beside him, and turned around to give Lily and me looks of annoyance.

"Make certain to control your husbands," she ordered. "I'll have my hands full enough with Jordan as it is."

"Hey!" Jordan shouted, snapping out of the trance he seemed to have been in as he stared unabashedly at James. "I tell it like it is, is all."

"From a heavily biased point of view."

"As if you aren't biased, Professor," Remus pointed out from his seat on Sirius' other side.

She huffed and shook her head.

"Now, now, gentlemen," Dumbledore called from behind us. "If you should like to remain in the teachers' section—"

"Wait are you offering us seats with the students?" James perked up.

"No, James," Lily stated firmly. "You are going to at least pretend to act your age."

"Besides, it'll be nice for Lee to have some company his own maturity level," I added, winking at the seventh year, who grinned widely.

"Does Harry know that you're here?" he asked, turning to look between the two Potters.

"No, we didn't get a chance to see him before," Lily replied. "But I think he might like to enjoy it as a surprise for after the match."

"So you don't want me to announce it?" he sounded a little disappointed.

"Jordan," McGonagall muttered in warning.

"Nah, we'll just catch him after it's over," James said over McGonagall. "If it's alright with you, headmaster," he added quickly at Lily's cough, turning to face an amused Dumbledore.

"I see no issue with it," he answered lightly.

The stands were nearly filled by now. Lily had handed Aradia back to me when she had grown a little fussy and now she looked as though she were about to fall asleep.

"What if she wakes up because of the noise?" Tonks asked as McGonagall turned to transfigure the sling into a miniature crib that Lily called a car seat.

"Allow me," Flitwick beamed, taking out his wand and tapping the top of the car seat with it. "There, she won't hear anything so long as she's in there. Is she likely to sleep through the match?"

"Probably; she was up half the night," Sirius answered, half turning to face Flitwick for a moment before turning back to James and Remus.

The noise in the stands suddenly doubled as the players began marching out onto the field from opposite ends of the pitch. Jordan tapped his wand on the microphone and muttered something before leaning forward.

"Hello! And welcome to our first Quidditch match since over a year ago!"

Screams of delight sounded from the crowd. Funnily enough, I could make out singing as well.

"D'you hear that?" I asked, ignoring Lee as he listed off the players' names. "It sounds like singing."

Tonks and Lily frowned for a moment. Lily shook her head.

"I can't make it out," she said.

"Hang on," Tonks muttered, concentrating for a moment. As I watched, her ears seemed to change shape ever so slightly. Then she gasped angrily. "How many Weasleys are on the team and which of them Keeps?"

* * *

_Kailey's Point of View: _

"How much longer should we wait?" Hermione muttered anxiously, glancing down to where the two team captains were shaking hands.

"Just until all of the attention is focused on the game," I answered quickly.

I glanced down the rows a little ways and caught Neville's eye. He shrugged a shoulder at me and I shook my head. He gave a slight nod in response before looking down even further to where Cho and Marietta were sitting. They repeated the exchange of gestures before the Ravenclaws passed it along to our Hufflepuff members. We had told the other members of the DA that we had overheard some Slytherins practicing their song and they had eagerly agreed to help put them back in their place. Plus it was good aiming practice.

"It's a good thing they're willing to help us with this," Hermione said quietly as Ernie Macmillan gave Cho the thumbs up in understanding.

"Hufflepuffs are always fair," I answered with a shrug.

"And Cho likes Harry," Hermione added when I failed to do so. "Even if you won't admit it."

"It's none of my business," I mumbled as the crowd began to roar; the players were shooting off into the air. "Alright, let's do this."

I caught Neville's eye again and gave two swift nods. He repeated the motion with Cho before turning behind him to see that the rest of the Gryffindors sitting behind him had understood (our entire house was in on the plan as well). I took a deep breath and, as subtly as possible, aimed my wand at whom I took to be Pansy Parkinson.

"_Silencio_!" the spell whistled across the field, though it was hardly visible thanks to the brightly shining sun from above.

We wouldn't be able to cast it more than a few times total because we didn't want to risk getting caught too early on in the game. But as long as those who were left with the ability to speak couldn't perform the counter-curse or didn't think to it wouldn't matter. The game began picking up speed, but I focused on watching the spells going across the field. They were hard to see, but it looked as though everyone was hitting their mark.

The Slytherins, despite noticing the problem, did not appear able to connect it with the rest of the school. Some of them were gesturing wildly to one another, but the rest had taken their wands out and were looking around in confusion. Some of the younger ones seemed afraid. Regardless, the singing had come to a crashing halt and as of yet Ron had not missed a single block.

I grinned and turned to face Neville again. I waited a few moments before he looked towards me. We locked eyes and I reached up a hand and ran it through my hair, nodding once. Within the next few minutes, the spells had stopped flying across the field and everyone was able to cheer wildly when Alicia made a spectacular pass to Angelina before the latter scored the first goal for Gryffindor.

"And it's a ten-nil game to Gryffindor!" Lee shouted to the crowd. "But now it's Warrington with the Quaffle! He dodges a Bludger from Weasley—Fred, I think but, oh, sorry! I meant George!" the crowd laughed as the twin who had hit the Bludger shook his head at the announcer vigorously. "But he's still dodged it anyway! And now he passes it to Montague, Montague to Pucey, back to Montague and now it's just him and Gryffindor's newest keeper! C'mon Ron! Show him the Weasley way!"

Montague went to throw it in, but Ron was ready, managing to block the goal without much of a problem at all.

"Good show, Ron!" Lee shouted. "And now it's Katie Bell with the—but wait! The Seekers have seen the snitch! C'mon, Harry! Gryffindor wants a shut-out!"

We screamed in anticipation as Harry and Malfoy raced for the little golden ball, but Harry's Firebolt was too fast for Malfoy's Nimbus and the chase was short lived. Harry pulled out of a steep dive, yanking his hand away from Malfoy's as he did so.

"Gryffindor wins! It's been a game of Keepers and Seekers, ladies and gents! And a brilliant game at that!" Lee shouted into the microphone.

Gryffindor's cry of victory was cut short as Harry suddenly pitched forward off of his broom, flipping over once before landing hard on his back, his broom landing innocently beside him. Hooch's whistle trilled through the air and it sounded like McGonagall and Jordan were fighting over the microphone behind all of the raucous the crowd was making.

We watched as Angelina landed beside Harry, helping him up and apparently speaking to him. Malfoy landed angrily not too far from where they were.

I whipped out my wand in a flash and Hermione jumped beside me.

"Kailey, what—?"

"_Silencio_!" I called out, my voice drowning away into the screams of the angry crowd, before Malfoy could open his mouth. "Hermione, what was the last thing we practiced in Transfiguration?" I asked quickly as Malfoy frowned and grabbed at his throat in confusion while Harry and Angelina exchanged what appeared to be looks of confusion.

"It was a color changing spell, why?"

I lifted one pant leg and aimed at my sock, changing its color from purple to orange.

"Just in case," I answered with a shrug just as Lee regained control of the microphone.

"And Slytherin house will lose forty House points for poor sportsmanship!" he crowed to the delight of the crowd. "Pretty gutsy of that Beater to go after Potter with his parents up in the stands, eh, Professor?" he added.

"Jordan, the microphone," McGonagall's voice groaned.

"Oh, whoops, sorry, Mr. Potter! But Harry, your parents are here!"

"They are?" Hermione asked, leaning forward to look up at the teachers' stand. "Oh, yes, I can see them. Remus and Tonks came as well."

I leaned forward as well to have a look. James, Sirius and Remus were all sitting in the row beside McGonagall. Behind them sat Keena, Lily and a currently scarlet haired Tonks, who was holding the baby in her arms. They were all waving and I looked back down to where Harry was, wishing I could see his face more clearly. I wanted to know if he was more excited or embarrassed by Lee's announcement, just so I could be prepared if he wasn't happy about it.

But he turned away with the rest of the team, all of them congratulating one another, though Seamus lagged behind. I had a feeling he was disappointed at not having any action to himself. They hadn't even thrown the Quaffle to him.

I glanced one last time towards the Slytherins, allowed myself one brief smirk and followed Hermione out of the stands and back to the common room for the raging party that was surly about to occur.

* * *

_Keena's Point of View: _

"What's wrong with the Slytherins?" Sirius muttered, frowning as a whole troop of them passed us by in a rush to get to Snape, who was walking ahead of us.

"Not sure," I answered thoughtfully.

"Maybe it has to do with why they stopped singing that song," Tonks suggested, shrinking her hair to a length that Aradia couldn't reach from the Metamorphmagus' arms. "Because I really doubt they just stopped singing it on their own."

We fell silent as we came upon where Snape was standing, staring at his students as they appeared to mime at him. I had to look away to hide my amusement. Someone had clearly hit them with some sort of silencer, either a spell or potion. Why had we never thought of that for a prank?

"Perhaps one of you should find a housemate who can speak to explain? Else do not waste my time," he grumbled as we passed by, glaring at Remus and Sirius as the two attempted to hide snickers. He was just lucky that James and Lily had gone to find Harry else the temptation for Sirius and Remus would probably have been too good to pass up.

Later that night there was an emergency staff meeting.

"It has come to my attention," Dumbledore stated once everyone had silenced themselves. "That more than half of Slytherin House mysteriously lost the ability to speak during the Quidditch game whilst expressing an interest for music," he paused as some of us sniggered at the expression on Snape's sour face. "Unfortunately none of them were able to think of a common student or group of students to be responsible for the prank. As a result, no punishment is possible at this time. However, if any of you hear anything, please inform me immediately. That is all."

Everyone stood to leave.

"Hem, hem."

We all sat back down, hardly able to contain a collective groan.

"Were any of the other houses affected?" Umbridge asked sweetly.

"No others came for assistance," Dumbledore replied. "So I am inclined to think not."

"Then isn't it obvious? All three houses other than Slytherin should be punished. Immediately."

"I beg your pardon?" Flitwick squeaked.

"That hardly seems fair," Sprout frowned.

"For all we know," McGonagall stated stiffly. "It was a fellow member of Slytherin house who performed the mischief."

Umbridge giggled at that idea.

"That seems a little ridiculous, Minerva, dear."

"So does punishing three quarters of the school," Vector inserted.

"Not only that," I pointed out. "But Filius doesn't teach Silencers until fifth year."

"Very well," she huffed. "Filius, which students seem most likely to you?"

"That interferes with student confidentiality," Flitwick twittered uncomfortably. "Besides, there are too many to name who are capable of performing it successfully at such distances."

"Well, this just seems a tad unfair for Severus and his students," she argued, shaking her head. "Don't you agree, Severus?"

"While I disagree with the method, this prank has saved my house from further loss of points for poor sportsmanship; I elected to interview the students about their sudden interest in music and have decided that the best punishment for them has already been carried out. I will not lose sleep over this," he finished with a sneer.

"Well I am dissatisfied."

"Unfortunately there is nothing we can do at the present," Dumbledore stated, standing up. "I hope you all enjoy the remainder of your weekend."

Sirius and I arrived in our quarters a few minutes later. After checking that Aradia was asleep, we went out and sat in the loveseat.

"Who d'you think is responsible?" he murmured.

"Same as you, I'm sure."

"That group they formed?"

"Got it in one."

"They better be careful, she's going to be obsessed with finding out who did it."

"Here's hoping they're careful," I replied softly.

**Next will be chapter 17! I hope you enjoyed it (Review? Possibly? It's been awhile…)! Till then!**

**:-D**


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter Seventeen: Thestrals and Snakes

**This is my disclaimer to all that is recognized as owned by JK Rowling. **

**Please do enjoy it!**

_Kailey's Point of View: _

Our visit to Hagrid was short-lived thanks to Umbridge's interruption. Thankfully we had managed to let him know that James and Lily had come out into the open. When she asked about the four pairs of footprints heading to but not away from the cabin he had shrugged and said that James, Lily, Remus and Tonks had left a note for him.

We got back to the empty common room not too long of a time later and commandeered the couches by the fire.

"What d'you suppose Hagrid's going to do for our next lesson?" Ron asked glancing at me but leaving the question open ended.

"Probably something…interesting," Harry replied when I made no move to. "Interesting in Hagrid's terms, I mean."

"That's what I'm afraid of," Hermione stated. "I don't care if I have to set up all of his lessons myself; I won't let Umbridge just take him away from us."

The three of them looked at me and I sighed.

"What do you want me to say?" I asked with a bit of irritation. "She's not going to care how good or bad he is at teaching; he's a half-breed and that's all she'll see."

"Well, yes, but don't you think it'll better his chances if—"

"No, Mione, I really don't. She's an evil little b-witch," I caught myself at Hermione's stern look. "Besides, you saw the look on her face when Hagrid brought up Harry's parents. They're being alive makes Fudge look bad and she hates anything that makes her _precious_ minister look bad. Hagrid is friends with them so of course she's already going to have an agenda against him anyway."

"Then maybe Umbridge should've kept her fat mouth shut about my dad talking to us then," Harry grumbled. "It's her own fault that Fudge is looking bad because of it."

"Is there ever a bright side for you, Harry?" Hermione sighed after a moment of silence, shaking her head. "Your parents are free again; I thought that was what you wanted."

"Of course it's what I wanted! But…"

"Not like this," Ron finished, giving Hermione a well-duh sort of look. "You've heard the rumors they're spreading around school."

Harry nodded in agreement and Hermione settled.

"Well, I'm still going to try and help Hagrid, regardless of whether or not you lot think it'll work," she huffed finally before standing up and marching towards the girls' dormitory.

The boys exchanged a glance before looking at me questioningly.

"What?" I asked defensively when neither of them said anything.

They exchanged another look.

"How well is she going to be able to pull this off?" Harry asked cautiously.

"She's not," I replied with a shrug.

"So how are we going to help?" Ron continued.

"Just keep her from panicking I suppose," I answered after a moment's consideration. "And by not freaking out for his next lesson…maybe even getting Neville prepared for it…" I trailed off when they gave me identical looks of confusion.

"Do I even want to know?" Harry asked skeptically.

"I was under the impression that you'd like being aware that you weren't insane."

Ron smirked at my tone but Harry frowned.

"Explain," he stated.

"The creatures that pull the carriages," I answered.

Now it was Ron's turn to frown.

"They're horseless carriages."

"Well, technically yes, since thestrals aren't horses," I shrugged.

* * *

_Keena's Point of View: _

The morning after the Quidditch match, neither Sirius nor I could bring ourselves to get out of bed in time to go to breakfast with the rest of the students. Aradia had had a nearly sleepless night and nothing Sirius or I or even Sparky could do made any difference. She just would not settle.

We ended up eating in our quarters and Sparky had just gone off to visit some friends when she popped back quickly.

"Master, Mistress! Sparky is having a message for you!" she squeaked. "Sparky is being told by Dobby that Headmaster Dumbledore is wishing you's is knowing Professor Hagrid is being back in his hut!"

"Hagrid's back?" I grinned feeling some of the sleepiness drain away. We hadn't heard a scrap of news about Hagrid since September. "When did he get here?"

"Dobby is saying he is coming last night, Mistress," Sparky reported, folding her hands behind her back and rocking back and forth on her toes. "Is Mistress wanting Sparky to be getting littlest miss ready? It is having snowed last night and littlest miss must be keeping warms," she nodded importantly.

"That would be great," Sirius replied, lifting his cup to finish off the last of his tea. "C'mon, I want to make sure he's alright; he should've been back ages ago."

Within minutes, all three of us were wrapped up tightly. I wore Aradia's sling underneath my outermost cloak just in case there was more wind outside than Sparky had accounted for, though I highly doubted there was anyway even a bit of the cold was going to be touching my baby girl. As we approached the castle doors, however, we were stopped.

"Hem, hem," Umbridge waddled her way out of the Great Hall. "Wherever are you going?"

"Down to visit Hagrid," Sirius replied, working to keep the tightness out of his voice. "We've just heard he's come back."

She frowned at him.

"I was under the impression that your brother had gone to visit him last night; surely he told you that Hagrid was back then?" she asked, addressing me.

"Well, yes, but we didn't get a chance to go down with them; it was so cold out and Aradia was tired from being out all day at the match," I answered smoothly, planning on asking Hagrid about this first thing; we had walked the other four down to the gates ourselves after dinner.

"But you know for a fact that your brother went to visit him?" she pressed.

"Yes, they did say something about it," I nodded. Luckily, Aradia gave a little whine. "I'm sorry, Professor, but we must be going; I want Hagrid to meet her while she's still awake."

We skirted around her and made our way out onto the grounds without any trouble. Avoiding the raging snowball fight that seemed to be going on closer to the lake, we arrived at Hagrid's hut. Sirius knocked loudly on the door and the first thing we heard was Fang's excited barking. There were voices behind the door before a loud thudding preceded Hagrid opening the door for us. I managed to withhold a gasp at the large, purplish bruises that covered his face. What had I expected? He'd been off in search of giants.

"Sirius, Keena! Shoulda expected it!" he boomed, stepping aside, revealing Hermione sitting at the table with a stack of notes and allowing Fang to pounce onto Sirius. Hagrid held out his hand to take my outermost cloak and I smiled my thanks, handing it to him and revealing the baby. "Oh, yeh've gone an' brought the little one?" he gasped happily, placing my cloak up on a hook.

"We thought we'd properly introduce the two of you," I replied, secretly hoping that his bruises wouldn't bother her.

Sirius finally got Fang calmed down as Hagrid went to fetch two more mugs. I sat down in one of the oversized chairs, smiling at Hermione in greeting before lifting Aradia out of her sling.

"Where are the other three?" I asked Hermione as she watched.

"They all had too much homework," she answered a little too quickly, but I let it go.

"Here, Sirius let him sniff her so he'll calm down," I suggested once I was settled.

He led the curious boarhound over to us and Fang sniffled at Aradia's feet, making her shriek with delight. Hagrid chuckled when Fang became frightened of the noise she made and ran over to hide in his bed.

"Aye, he's a ruddy coward, eh?" Hagrid laughed, setting the mugs down on the table and filling them with tea.

"Nothing new about that," Sirius grinned. "But Hagrid, Umbridge stopped us on our way to see you. She was going on about James and Lily coming to visit you last night? What made her think that?"

Hermione fidgeted and Hagrid glanced at her. Suddenly I understood.

"Let me take a guess," I said sarcastically, though there was a smile on my face. "She found tracks leading here, but none leading away, right?"

"I reckon yeh caught on, then," Hagrid grinned guiltily. "Yeh'll be glad ter know they've been puttin' James' cloak ter good use."

"Always glad to hear there are mischief makers about," Sirius replied with a wink for Hermione. "Besides, I can only stop what I catch."

"Or run away from it before you do see it," I added, rolling my eyes.

He shook his head at me, sitting down beside me and the baby.

"So, Hagrid, would you care to hold her?" he asked, changing the topic.

"If yeh don' mind," Hagrid nodded, taking care to gently place his mug back down on the table. "I'll be right careful with her," he added seriously.

"I know Hagrid; we trust you," I answered with a smile, letting Sirius take her from my arms and pass her on to Hagrid.

"Ah, she's a right beauty, this one," he said softly, lifting a massive finger and gently stroking her tiny face. "An' how old is she now?"

"Just over three months," Sirius stated proudly. "She was born on 2 August."

Hagrid's brow furrowed and he looked up at me.

"Coulda sworn she were due in September," he suggested slowly, handing her back to her father. "Wha' happened?"

"I don't know what you talked about with the kids last night," I began slowly.

"They mentioned dementors attacking at Potter Mansion, but they didn't get none too specific," he stated warily.

"There was a double attack, one at the Mansion and one in Little Whinging," Sirius explained. "We think they were meant to go after Harry and Keena; last living heirs of the Potter line and all that."

"Long story short, I killed the dementor that stole her soul all those years ago and after that I went into early labor and…well, here we are," I finished with a slight shrug.

"Blimey," Hagrid growled, shaking his shaggy head.

"Yes, well, why don't we talk about something more positive?" I suggested, not too keen to ask about the giants with Hermione sitting there. I didn't doubt he'd told the kids about them, but I'd also like to think he left out some of the details for the Order only. "Like why exactly you're here on your own, Hermione."

"She thinks she's got ter fix me lessons," Hagrid replied as Hermione opened her mouth. "I been telling her there ain't nothin' the matter with 'em."

"What do you have planned?" I asked curiously. But he glanced at Hermione as though not wanting to spill the secret. "Hagrid, please, don't you think she'll have already gotten the answer from Kailey?"

"I s'pose yer right," he nodded. "I'm planning on doin' thestrals ter start with; interesting creatures," he added for Hermione's benefit, though she seemed less than pleased.

"Sounds like a good idea, but why don't you warn the students beforehand? Ask the students if any of them know what exactly pulls those carriages up and down for them during the school year," I suggested lightly.

"I was hopin' ter surprise 'em," he admitted, but shrugged. "Though that'd be best wouldn't it? Let the ones who can see 'em get a hold o' themselves and stay calm and the like."

"Does Harry even know what they are?" Sirius asked suddenly, frowning at me.

"Kailey told them about them last night," Hermione volunteered when all I could do was shrug. "Or so I assumed when Ron said something about thinking the first lesson sounded interesting if a bit odd. He said something about them being unlucky."

"Unlucky? Tha's just bad information," Hagrid shook his head. "How unlucky can it be ter have a creature smart 'nuff ter get yeh wherever it is yeh need ter go? Aside from tha', this herd's been pulling the school carriages fer decades!"

* * *

_Kailey's Point of View: _

"Why'd you have to go and hold me back?" I grumbled at Ron and Harry, yanking my arms away from their grip as the Slytherins mounted the castle stairs far ahead of us.

"Maybe because we don't want you to have to cut your hand open tonight?" Ron suggested sarcastically.

"Or as pay back for the number of times you kicked, stepped on and or elbowed me back there?" Harry inserted, rolling his eyes. "'Sounds like he's _grunting_ all of the time'…Merlin's beard," he grumbled under his breath.

"There wasn't anything wrong with that lesson either!" Hermione exclaimed unhappily. "He warned us beforehand what was going on and nobody was nervous at all!"

"Except for Malfoy," I reminded her. "When Hagrid said we'd be going into the forest to find them."

"Yes, well, that's beside the point," she insisted. "That hag just couldn't stand to see Hagrid doing a good job."

"Maybe she won't be able to do anything if we keep our grades up in there," Ron suggested hopefully. "Course then she'd have to sack Binns…"

"That's a bad thing?" Harry commented as we climbed the stairs to the castle. "He's always giving us feet of work to do."

"How does he grade our papers in there anyway?" I asked with a frown.

"He probably gets another teacher or someone to lift them up for him," Hermione replied. "But that doesn't answer our problem. What are we going to do for Hagrid?"

"Pray that Umbridge gets attacked by a herd of angry centaurs?"

It took me a moment to realize that the others had stopped following me. I glanced back to see that all three were staring at me, clearly wondering about my sanity. Rolling my eyes, I made my way back towards them.

"Not that I wouldn't like to see it," I admitted once I stood before them. "But due to extenuating circumstances, I find that I will most likely have to intervene with that particular little fiasco."

They exchanged looks, silently debating whether or not they wanted to ask. Their consensus was a resounding no.

December seemed to arrive faster than it normally did, though that was likely due to the fact that Hermione was already asking if I'd study with her for OWLs. It was as though her anxiety was seeping out and imbedding itself into my brain in the middle of every essay and assignment that I had done for the past few weeks. But anxiety over class work wasn't the only thing on my mind.

It was late and I was alone in the common room, pacing. Harry had sent out the message earlier that evening that our last DA meeting of the term would be tomorrow. Aside from the images of mistletoe and Cho Chang that kept interrupting my thought process, I was considering whether or not I should do something to prevent Mr. Weasley's attack. Just because he wasn't supposed to die did not mean that he wouldn't. And I knew firsthand what it was like to be bitten by Nagini; I did not wish that fate upon anyone else.

At the same time, it would be the trigger to start Harry's Occlumency lessons. I was uncertain whether or not Dumbledore would see them as necessary unless Harry's vision took place. What if by preventing this attack, I left the door wide open for another, possibly one with more deadly results?

I sighed and paused my pacing as the hour chimed one o'clock in the morning. I took a deep breath and headed off to bed, more prepared than I liked for the nightmares that awaited me.

* * *

_Keena's Point of View: _

Lily and James were no longer being mentioned in the paper every morning by the time December hit. The rumors milling around the student populace had finally silenced themselves, though fortunately Harry had not reacted once to a single thing said. Or at least, the other three had managed to prevent him from reacting. He wasn't coming to talk to Sirius or me about any of it at any rate. But he wasn't the only one who was avoiding the two of us.

Alianna was still not speaking to Sirius or me and I was sorely tempted to have her report to my office. I voiced my desire to McGonagall and Flitwick at one meal and both of them agreed that doing so would only make her angrier with me.

"None of the other students have parents who work here; forcing her to come to you will only embarrass her," McGonagall had said.

"Besides, her grades are fine, so whatever her issue is, it is not interfering with her school work," Flitwick had added cheerfully.

Despite my daughter and nephew staying away from my office, it was seldom empty.

One afternoon there was a knock on my door. I called for the person to enter and was unsurprised when Neville walked in, and I knew that his bag only contained one book; Potions.

"Good afternoon, Neville," I smiled, gesturing for him to sit. "Which potion d'you want to work on today?"

"Actually I was hoping to…er, talk with you first…" his voice seemed to grow weaker as he continued. "About my parents," he whispered.

I smiled gently and took out my wand, flicking it at my door so that it closed before setting up a silencing spell.

"I got a letter from Gran today," he started without preamble. "She was saying how my dad was always at the top of his class in Potions and in DADA…"

"Sounds about right to me, but your parents were a few years ahead of me," I replied slowly.

"Yeah I know," he answered. "But I-I was wondering whether or not…well, Kailey is so good at Potions like her dad and Harry's the best in DADA and I've heard that was how his dad was too…"

"Snape forced Kailey into studying Potions for an entire summer before she realized that she actually enjoyed the subject," I cut him off. "And yes, James was the leading DADA student during his time here at Hogwarts, but Harry's nowhere near as good at Potions as Lily is. So no, Neville, which classes are your strengths and weaknesses do not depend upon your parents. So what if you're not a Potions whiz? You're amazing in Herbology and what's more, you actually enjoy Herbology, don't you?"

"Yeah, it's my favorite," he admitted. "But shouldn't I at least do a little better in those other classes since I use my dad's old wand?"

I frowned at him.

"Have you always used Frank's wand?" I asked slowly.

He nodded.

"Is that bad?" he asked nervously, his hands twitching to where he kept it in his pocket.

"Well, no, not bad exactly but…" I sighed uncomfortably. "Neville, you've heard the saying 'the wand chooses the wizard' haven't you?"

"Of course I have."

"Well, that's because every person's magic is different. Just like every wand is different. And, don't take this the wrong way, but you aren't your dad, Neville. He's a part of you, certainly, but so is your mum. Do you understand?"

"I think so," he murmured after a moment. "You're saying because I have different magic from my dad, that it means his wand won't work as well for me as it would for him. But how do I tell Gran?"

"You don't," I answered after a few moments' consideration. "I'll get in touch with her over the break and see if I can get her to see reason."

He gave me a small smile before pulling out his Potions book to work with.

Just as he was finishing his potion, the door to the classroom opened up. We both glanced up to see Alianna standing in the doorway, staring intently at her feet.

"I can come back later," she whispered, not looking up at either of us.

I looked to Neville, but he was already ladling out some potion to place into a flask for me to check later.

"No, just give us a moment," I replied, moving to help Neville disassemble everything.

"I can handle it, Professor," he murmured his eyes flashing over to where my daughter stood, shifting from one foot to the other. "Same time next week?"

"Yes, that should be fine, Neville; and this one looks like it'll be worth sending over to Snape," I answered with a grin which he returned. "In my office then, Alianna," I added over my shoulder.

She followed me into the room and sat down in front of my desk, fiddling with the straps on her bag while I shut the door and put up silencing spells. She was still staring at her feet.

"What's the matter, love?" I asked, leaning against my desk and folding my arms across my chest once I was done.

"Are you and dad mad at me?" she whispered so quietly that I wasn't sure she had spoken at first.

"Mad at you? Why would we be mad at you?" I asked bewildered.

"Because I…I didn't behave nicely. About the tutoring," she mumbled, her hands clasping together in her lap. "And then when everything about Auntie Lily and Uncle James came up I still didn't help even though I knew they might try and take you and dad away and…and…" she trailed off unhappily.

"Alianna, look at me please," I requested softly.

Her blue-gray eyes slowly reached up to my chocolate brown.

"We're not angry with you, alright?" I said firmly, leaning towards her slightly. "I'm not saying your attitude was acceptable, but we were never really angry with you."

She frowned at me, lifting a hand to scratch the back of her head and causing a few strands of hair to fall out of the ponytail she had put it in.

"But…how come you and dad didn't talk to me for so long?" she asked in a small voice, her eyes filling up with confused tears.

I couldn't help but smile a little at the irony.

"Love, dad and I thought you were angry with us; we didn't want to make you come to us until you were ready to," I answered, opening my arms up for a hug when the tears began to fall from her eyes. She flew to me and held on tight. "Alianna, even if we were angry, that doesn't mean you can't come to us; we love you."

"I'm sorry," she whispered against my shoulder. "It's just I Saw you crying and being angry and I thought it was because of me…"

"No, love, not because of you," I answered softly, kissing the top of her head and I felt her relax in my arms.

She calmed down after a few minutes, but she didn't let go of me.

"Mum, I've been listening to Professor Trelawney, but…I Saw something scary again," she said quietly once she had finished crying. "It was Harry; he was having a very bad dream and Ron woke him up but there was this moment when Harry had…he had these _red_ eyes, mum."

She paused and leaned away to gauge my reaction, but I managed to keep my expression puzzled, but calm.

"Was there anything else about it?" I asked softly.

She nodded.

"Not too long after he woke up Kailey came into the room and he looked at her like…like he couldn't believe that she was there. And then she said something to Ron and the two of them started pulling Harry out of bed and they were in the common room by the time Neville and Professor McGonagall showed up with dad."

"And then?" I asked when she failed to continue, but she shook her head.

"That's where it ended," she shrugged. "It was creepy, mum," she shivered before hugging me tightly again.

"Yes, it was," I whispered, running a hand through her hair and frowning to myself wondering just what the vision meant.

* * *

_Kailey's Point of View: _

I practically fled from the DA meeting in order to gain a few minutes on my own to think one last time. I had decided that I was not going to interfere with the attack but that did not mean that I didn't need a plan. Just as I figured out what it was that I was going to do, the portrait hole opened and Ron and Hermione climbed through, coming to join me in front of the fire.

"Where's Harry?" I asked frowning as Hermione pulled some parchment and a quill with ink out of her bag and Ron reclaimed his Transfiguration book that he had left sitting on the table.

They glanced at one another briefly before Hermione looked up at me.

"He's making sure everyone gets to their common rooms safely," she said softly.

My throat tightened.

"And the two of you didn't wait because why?"

Hermione sighed and Ron turned back to his homework, his ears turning slightly pink.

"I see," I whispered quietly, taking a deep breath. "Well…I'm…going to bed. Yes, bed. Um…right."

"Kailey," Hermione started, but I stood and headed off to the dorm, ignoring her completely.

When I got up to the room, it was to find Lavender and Parvati still awake and practicing wand movements as they sat up together on Lavender's bed. Both of them froze as I entered, staring at me bewilderedly as I made a mad dash for the bathroom. I was careful to shut the door quietly. It wasn't until I faced the mirror that I realized I had tears rolling down my face. But of course realizing it only made me angry.

"Stupid, stupid," I muttered to my reflection. "You should've known this was still going to happen, never mind you freaking almost _died_ last year to get him out of that graveyard, it doesn't matter; she's _prettier_ than you. Forget that you know she's going to be horrid to him, she's who he thinks he wants and then after her it's just going to be _Ginny_," I sneered the younger girl's name, letting raw jealousy consume me in a way I had never imagined it could. "No, you're just the friend who knows the future, that's it. Nothing else matters."

I let myself cry out the angry tears before I heaved a great sniff, commanding them to halt. I shook my head angrily and turned on the cold water, splashing it on my face to get myself to calm down. When I came out of the bathroom it was to find that the other three girls were all in bed asleep. Sighing heavily, I silently exited the dorm and cautiously made my way down into the common room to wait for Neville to make his appearance.

I jerked in and out of sleep for little more than an hour and a half at most before I heard the loud bang of a door being slammed open. I jumped up and made for the boys' dorms, nearly crashing into Neville at the bottom of the stairs.

"Kailey! It's Harry, he's—"

"Go get McGonagall or Sirius or Keena, Neville," I commanded pushing past him and sprinting up the stairs, ignoring him when he called back that he would.

I flew in through the open door, not paying any attention to Seamus or Dean as they made noises of confusion, rushing straight to Harry's side. All of my anger seemed to evaporate as I grabbed one of his hands and he looked up at me, totally shocked, clearly realizing that I had been waiting for this to happen. But I didn't have time for him to be angry with me just yet.

"Ron, help me get him up," I ordered and together we tugged Harry to his feet.

"What's going on?" Ron demanded as we rushed towards the common room.

"Not yet," I answered as we reached the portrait hole just in time for it to swing open, revealing Neville, McGonagall and Sirius, who opened his mouth to ask something. "We need to hurry," I cut him off before he could start.

"You know what it's all about?" Sirius demanded.

"Yes."

"Then you come ahead with me," he stated with a nod to McGonagall.

I released Harry's hand and followed Sirius at his sprint, not understanding why it had to be me until he turned a corner and was suddenly bounding along the corridor as Padfoot. Changing forms, I raced after him and we reached the headmaster's office at record speed.

"Fizzing Whizbee," he said to the gargoyle as I transformed back.

Sirius lifted his hand to knock, but I didn't wait and ducked under his arm, shoving the door open. Dumbledore looked up in surprise as I headed straight for his desk, not even pausing to greet Fawkes as he flew to land on my shoulder.

"Harry's seen it. It's Mr. Weasley; Nagini attacked him. You don't have much time."

He frowned at me for a moment before standing up and facing the portraits that lined the walls. He gave the orders to Everard and Dilys, both of whom disappeared from their portraits quickly, before he had Fawkes go to act as lookout. The phoenix rubbed his head against my neck for a moment before disappearing in a flash of warmth, though the flames did not burn me.

Just as he disappeared, Ron, Harry and McGonagall entered the office.

"Mr. Potter, perhaps you could shed a little more light as to what is occurring at the moment? Ms. Snape was rather vague," Dumbledore stated quietly, gesturing for all of us to take seats.

As Harry explained his vision, my leg began to bounce nervously and I glanced back towards the portraits several times. He finished his story and Dumbledore ordered McGonagall and Sirius to go back to Gryffindor Tower and get the rest of the Weasleys.

"Why didn't you stop this?" Harry demanded once they had left the three of us alone with Dumbledore.

I opened my mouth to reply but was cut off by the return of Everard.

"Dumbledore, I yelled until I got someone's attention; I think they took him off to St. Mungo's," he said briskly, sounding slightly out of breath. "He's covered in blood," he added and Ron made a noise under his breath.

"Thank you, Everard," Dumbledore replied evenly. "Dilys should see him arrive soon—"

"Yes, they've just brought him in," she said as she stepped back into her frame. "He's in a bad way, Dumbledore; they carried him right under my portrait."

He nodded gravely before turning to face a third portrait.

"Phineas," he called, though he did not receive a reply until all of the other portraits snapped at him. "Go and tell them to be ready to receive Harry Potter, the Weasley children and Molly Weasley, and possibly Kailey Snape as well."

Phineas rolled his eyes but left all the same.

Before he had come back to his portrait, the rest of the Weasley children were ushered into the room by Sirius and McGonagall. The three of them were looking between Harry and me in confusion.

"What is going on?" Ginny asked, her eyes wide and terrified as she looked from the two of us to Ron's pale face.

"Your father has been injured doing work for the Order of the Phoenix," Dumbledore replied softly, pausing as a flash of flame ignited in the middle of the office leaving behind a solitary golden feather that floated gently to the ground. "Minerva, she knows; go head her off—give her any story."

She nodded briskly before Dumbledore turned to Sirius.

"Severus is patrolling in the dungeons; the two of you were following an empty lead on the silencing charms performed at the Quidditch match," he stated firmly, pausing for a moment before he continued. "Keena will have been awake with the baby all night because she had a slight fever."

Sirius nodded and left the room without another word.

Meanwhile Dumbledore stood and went around behind us, rummaging through a cabinet and coming back to his desk holding a blackened kettle. He touched his wand to it and murmured "_Portus_," before looking around at the Weasleys.

"This will take the five of you to where the Potters are staying," he stated softly, handing the kettle to Fred. "I trust you've all used a portkey before?" After a round of nods he continued. "Very good, on the count of three then."

And suddenly it was just me and Dumbledore in the office. He sat down and stroked his beard twice, giving me a strange look. I fidgeted in my seat, my leg beginning to bounce again and I looked away from him.

"Do you believe you will be able to maintain your composure today or will you be too nervous wondering about Mr. Weasley's condition?" he asked after a length of silence.

"He should be fine," I replied softly, taking a deep breath. "But that doesn't mean that he will be."

"May I ask why you waited for it to happen?"

I looked up at him, grateful that his expression read as nothing more than curious.

"I didn't know whether or not you would insist on having Harry take Occulmency lessons if this didn't happen first. And I figured it would make Voldemort think that I might not know how things happen anymore. After all, what kind of heartless monster allows one of her closest friend's parents to be viciously attacked?" I shut my mouth firmly when I realized I had snapped the last of it. "Sorry sir," I mumbled quietly.

"That's quite alright," he replied. "And had you prevented this attack it may also have left the door open for a more deadly encounter, which I'm sure you also considered. We have reacted quickly in any case and I'm sure Healer Bell will keep us informed. Now, I will ask you once more; will you be able to maintain your composure?"

I frowned and looked away from him again, noticing that my leg was still bouncing uncontrollably. I looked back up at him to see that he was holding out a quill. Closing my eyes, I took it and felt the familiar pull of a portkey whisking me away.

**I hope you've enjoyed this chapter, up next will be 18. Until that time, hope you're all enjoying your fall!**

**:-D**


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter Eighteen: Christmas Chaos

**Anything recognized as JK's work is probably JK's work. **

**Happy Reading (sorry for the wait)!**

_Keena's Point of View: _

"Mistress! Mistress!"

I jumped awake at the squeaky call. Groaning, I rolled over to get a look at the clock. Three in the morning.

"What is it Sparky? Is Aradia hungry?" I usually heard the baby crying before Sparky was able to come and wake me up.

"No, Mistress, it is not being the baby, she is being asleep!" Sparky cried, tugging on one ear. "Master is saying that young Master Harry is being in trouble—"

"What kind of trouble?" I snapped, sitting up straight. "Is he hurt? Or in detention?" I scrambled out of bed and began searching for a robe.

"No, Mistress, no, young Master Harry is being sent to his parents just minutes ago. Young Master is saying he is having a very bad dream and young Miss Kailey is saying it means that Mr. Wheezy is needing to be saved from a big snake."

I sat back down hard and stared at the little elf in front of me.

"She is being sent to Master James and Mistress Lily too, but Master is saying that you is needing to be staying up with the baby because she is having a fever so that Professor Umbridge cannot be blaming you for young Master Harry being gone."

She finished and looked up at me with wide eyes, fiddling with her towel.

I gulped twice and shook my head.

"Is Mistress wanting some Calming Draught?"

* * *

_Kailey's Point of View: _

When I arrived at Grimmauld Place, the twins and James were arguing about going to St. Mungo's immediately. Fortunately, thanks to their argument, no one noticed my arrival right away. It gave me time to creep into the corner of the room, but I was too anxious to sit down. Suddenly, Lily put her thumb and index finger to her mouth and blew a shrill whistle. Silence was immediate.

"That is quite enough, all three of you," she stated, her hands flying to her hips. "Fred, George, I know that you're worried about your father but please try to understand what it would mean if the two of you showed up without being called by your mother first. It would reveal that Dumbledore is learning about things as they are happening. Can you imagine how the Minister would react?"

"But Dumbledore didn't hear it as it was happening!" George shouted angrily. "He heard about it afterward! When our dad had already been attacked!"

"For all we know, he could be—" Fred cut himself off as his eyes landed on me and I automatically looked away to study my shoes.

His sudden silence brought everyone's attention towards me; I could feel their eyes. I forced myself not to gulp or shift my feet, standing perfectly still and keeping my eyes on the ground. Any second now, the accusations would start. I was betting it would Ginny to bring it up first. Or maybe Ron, he probably felt the most betrayed out of the four of them. All I knew was that if I looked up, it would be like inviting it all to begin.

But no one said anything. Absolutely nothing at all, and I think that unnerved me more than if anyone had said something.

I heard James clear his throat.

"Why don't we all sit down?" he suggested softly.

After a pause, I heard the sounds of chairs and benches being pulled around as people chose where to sit. I stayed still.

"Kailey, you as well," Lily requested, her voice gentle but firm.

Repressing a sigh, I sat myself down at the end of the table, as far from everyone else as I could possibly manage. Still, no shouting ensued.

And then finally, Ron spoke up.

"Did you know this was going to happen?"

Without looking up at any of them, I nodded.

"Then dad is going to be fine," he stated firmly. When I didn't reply, he continued. "Right?"

I sighed this time and looked up to face him.

"He _should_ be," I said softly. "But there is a difference between _should_ and _is_."

He nodded and I noticed that his ears, which should have been pink at the very least, were normal colored. In fact, he seemed more relaxed than the other four.

"But why did you just let it happen?" Fred finally demanded, sounding less angry now that, in his mind at least, his dad's chance of survival had heightened considerably.

"I've told Dumbledore that I'll only meddle with something that ends in death. In theory, this isn't supposed to."

"But it's like you said," Ginny said, her voice wavering. "That's only what's _supposed_ to happen. You don't know if it actually will!"

"Yeah, but with Kailey there, Dumbledore probably got the message a lot faster than he would have if Harry had had to explain it all," Ron argued. "Sorry, mate," he added when Lily and James frowned in confusion and Harry ducked his head.

"She shouldn't have waited for it to happen at all!" Ginny cried, standing up and glaring at her brother.

Ron opened his mouth, but I cut him off.

"Look, I know what I did isn't exactly ideal, but what if by preventing this from happening, I left the door wide open for another attack? A worse attack?" I asked, my voice trembling. "If all goes as it should, you're dad will be okay. Enough so that he and his Healer may even try and use muggle remedies, not that those'll work but…" I trailed off with a shrug and shook my head. "For now, the most any of us can do is wait."

And wait we did.

It was silent for the most part. Lily and James would whisper occasionally, as would the twins. Ron and Harry exchanged looks every twenty minutes and I lost count of the number of times Ginny glared at me over the course of those hours. And then finally, finally, the door to the kitchen swung open, revealing an extremely tired, pale looking Mrs. Weasley. Harry, George, Ron and James all began to rise from their seats, but paused as she gave them a weak, forced smile.

"He's going to be alright," she said softly, her voice cracking as if she had shed tears upon first hearing the news.

The tight, heavy atmosphere released suddenly and I felt my chest lighten as I exhaled in pure relief. Ginny, who had been just about to fall asleep, sprinted to her mother's side and engulfed her in a great hug, all three of her brothers only a half step behind her. Harry gratefully sat back down in his seat and James moved to sit closer to him, speaking quietly to his son while Lily stood and immediately started preparations for breakfast.

I watched the two families for a moment, my relief quickly dissipating as jealousy reintroduced itself. Closing my eyes for a moment, I gulped down my emotions before standing up and approaching Mrs. Weasley now that she stood beside Lily, insisting that she could help with breakfast while her four youngest children continued their celebrations at the table.

"Mrs. Weasley, could I talk to you for a moment?" I asked quietly, nodding my head towards the door.

She blinked at me for a moment as she tied an apron around her waist before nodding and following me out of the kitchen, closing the door behind her.

"Are you alright, Kailey, dear?" she asked, her voice full of motherly concern.

"I—Yeah, um, I just…" I paused and shook my head. "No, I'm not. I'm so sorry about all of this, I should have done something but…see, I was, I thought for sure that Mr. Weasley would be alright. I was worried something worse would happen if I didn't let this happen, but that's no excuse; he still could have died and I didn't do anything about it. I'm sorry," I finished weakly, hanging my head in shame.

I froze a little when I was suddenly engulfed in one of her mother-bear hugs, but managed to relax myself enough to wrap my arms around her in return.

"Kailey, this is a war we're in; Arthur and I know what we've signed in for," she murmured into my hair. "You are going to have to make decisions like this often and I want you to know that we all will trust and love you no matter what. You belong to our family just as much as any of the others. Do you understand?"

Inhaling the scent of her motherhood, I nodded against her shoulder.

* * *

_Keena's Point of View: _

I sat in our living quarters, rocking Aradia as she slept soundly, waiting for some small scrap of news. Finally, at five thirty in the morning, there was a small pop and Sparky stood before me.

"Professor Dumbledore is wishing Sparky to tell Mistress that Mr. Wheezy is being stable," she stated dutifully. "He is saying that Mistress is not needing to be worried about that."

I let out a soft chuckle and shook my head, careful not to wake the baby.

"No, but I'll be worried anyway; Umbridge is going to be furious," I said when Sparky looked at me curiously.

Sparky gave me a nervous smile; she was wary about speaking ill of any witch or wizard.

"Is Mistress wishing Sparky to be going and telling Master the news?" she asked instead, her head jerking towards our closed bedroom door.

"No, if he's actually sleeping right now I think that's probably best," I replied, shaking my head.

He had come back to our quarters an hour after I had been woken up. His exhaustion had been tangible; apparently Umbridge had interrogated him extensively, despite Snape's annoyed claims that the two had been prowling in the dungeons the entire night. I had convinced him that if I heard anything drastic about Arthur that I would wake him up immediately.

When the time came, the two of us headed for breakfast in the Great Hall. The absence of the Weasley red heads at Gryffindor table was glaringly obvious, but the discussions around the tables hadn't seemed to reach that point yet. We sat down near Sprout and McGonagall, and, thankfully, rather far away from where Umbridge sat, grumpily stabbing at her plate.

"Good morning Keena, Sirius," Sprout chirped happily before she frowned. "Where's the little deary?"

"She had a slight fever last night," Sirius answered before yawning.

"It doesn't take much for a slight fever to become dangerous, Sirius," I replied in a long-suffering tone. "Sparky is with her right now, but I was too nervous to bring her to breakfast," I added to Sprout, just loud enough that I knew the rest of the table would have little problem getting the gist of the conversation judging by how Umbridge gave a particularly violent stab at her plate.

"Well, I've got some good herbs down in the greenhouses," Sprout replied with a nod. "They're safe on infant stomachs if you'd like the extra precaution seeing as you're all travelling tomorrow."

"Don't encourage her, Pomona, Aradia is _fine_," Sirius answered, shaking his head at me when I opened my mouth. "Sparky is going to keep her in the nursery today, giving Keena updates every, oh, let's say fifteen minutes?" he suggested sarcastically, giving me a wink.

I humphed and crossed my arms, deigning to reply, and causing Sprout and McGonagall both to laugh.

"She's a first time mother, Sirius, you'd best be prepared for all that entails," Sprout stated sagely before returning to her meal.

McGonagall leaned closer for a moment.

"Now I do believe some of my confusion over several unresolved pranks from your years has just come to light," she stated under her breath. "I don't know whether to give you four lines now or just let it go," she shook her head.

"I don't think I know what you mean," Sirius mumbled back under his breath.

"Clearly you four were better actors than I accounted for," she replied, returning to her breakfast without another word.

I was hardly surprised later that day after classes had ended when Hermione and Alianna visited my office at the same time. Both girls sat in front of my desk, Alianna leaning forward in anticipation of an answer and Hermione leaning back with her arms crossed.

"I can't answer what you don't ask," I said after a few moments of complete silence after I had finished putting up a silencing charm.

The girls looked at each other for a moment.

"Where are they?" Hermione asked turning to face me.

"Unfortunately, since I am not legally responsible for any of them, I don't know where they are."

"I thought you and dad were responsible for Harry and Kailey both?" Alianna frowned.

"We were for Harry, but his parents are back now which means they are the ones in charge of him. Kailey only lives with us; she's Dumbledore's ward," I replied, shaking my head. "I do know, however, that Mr. Weasley was taken very ill, very suddenly and that is the reason for which they all left. He's going to be fine, otherwise the two of you would have been to see the others by now," I added at the looks of shock I was presented with.

"What are we going to do?" Hermione asked worriedly.

"He's stable now, so nothing. This isn't to be spread around and we'll be going home before you know it," I answered.

They exchanged looks before standing up and nodding goodbye. I could tell from the looks on their faces that they would be discussing the truth in my statements as soon as they left the room. I knew neither of them believed me for a second when I said that I didn't know where they were, but it was the official story that they needed to know.

Sirius and I agreed that we would wake up and leave before breakfast the next morning, taking Alianna with us instead of having her take the train back to London. Unfortunately for Hermione we couldn't come up with a decent excuse to get her out of the school.

"It's just as well; it would be more suspicious if we took her out as well," Sirius stated when I expressed my worry over having her alone on the train. "Besides, that's one less trunk to handle on that damned bus," he added with a grin.

"As if it would be any more difficult to perform an extra levitation charm," I mumbled, shaking my head and flicking my wand at my own trunk so that it would shrink down to pocket size.

Travelling with Aradia this time around was much easier, thank Merlin. The conductor had eyed her nervously when he realized that she was that same baby from three months ago, but he wisely said nothing as he accepted the money from Sirius. Luckily the bus was mostly empty and we were the second stop, meaning that Aradia didn't have the time to grow frustrated over the constant banging.

"Can we take the Knight bus back to school after Christmas?" Alianna requested as soon as it had disappeared.

"You wouldn't rather take the train back?" Sirius asked as we approached the old London house. "Won't you miss your friend?"

"Sammy isn't the only friend I have, dad," she rolled her eyes. "I've got Lizzie too, you know."

"Won't you miss your friends then?" he rephrased, rolling his own eyes as he opened the door for us.

"Well it isn't as if I won't see them ever again, dad," she answered with a smirk that I was almost certain she had picked up from Kailey over the summer.

Sirius just shook his head and ruffled her hair, making her squeal which awoke the portrait. I hastily shut the door behind me as Sirius rushed forward to silence his mother. Aradia began wailing aloud. I sighed and wondered if it was a bad thing that I was used to the ruckus.

* * *

_Kailey's Point of View: _

I jumped at the sound of Mrs. Black's shrieking and shook my head, returning to the matter at hand; sulking. Well, maybe sulking wasn't quite the right word for it. When we had returned yesterday from visiting the hospital Harry had immediately found an excuse to go upstairs on his own, leaving me to deal with all of the questions.

"Is he really the weapon?" were the first words out of Fred's (maybe George) mouth as soon as the adults were far enough away.

"Don't be stupid," I had scoffed.

"So you know what is then?" Ginny had demanded.

From there it was a babbling contest and I couldn't get a word in edgewise. Eventually I had ended up just yelling at them all to shut up, which woke the portrait up, before stomping up to my room and slamming the door shut behind me. Ron had tried to get me to come out so that he could apologize to me and so that I could go and get Harry out of his funk as well.

"I'm not his keeper; tell him to fix it himself!" I had snarled, totally ignoring the part where he apologized.

Lily and Mrs. Weasley had both attempted to get me to come down for dinner, but I had flatly refused, telling them each I wasn't hungry and I would call one of the Potter elves if I was. Alright, I guess sulking was the right word for it.

The shrieking from downstairs finally ceased, just in time for a knock to sound on my door again. I grumbled under my breath and rolled over onto my other side to glare at the wall. The knocker didn't take heed to my non-existent response and thus became an intruder. Whoever it was didn't say anything, but came and sat down on the edge of my bed.

"Ron says you won't talk to anybody," Alianna stated conversationally. "Which is probably why nobody can get Harry to say anything either."

"Harry's a big boy," I said. "I'm sure someone else can break through to him."

"Well he thinks you're angry with him for attacking Mr. Weasley," she informed me.

"That's dumb; he only witnessed it, he didn't actually do anything," I grumbled, turning my head so that my face was in my pillow.

"I know; I had a vision of when you went and woke him up, but last night I had a dream about what really happened, though it was from Ron's perspective," I had the impression that she was shrugging. "You're angry at him because he kissed Cho Chang and not you."

I sat up straight and stared at the little girl in front of me.

"So he did kiss her then?" I demanded, not bothering to deny my jealousy.

"It sounded more like she kissed him to me," she shrugged. "I didn't See it, I only heard about it afterward. She and a few of her friends were giggling about it yesterday."

"Awesome," I groaned, falling back down onto my pillow. "Well, if he thinks she'll be better for him, then he can just go and get _her_ to pick him up out of his mood," I grumbled, my voice muffled by my pillow.

Alianna sighed and I imagined that she was shaking her head. I just burrowed my face further into my pillow.

"Well can I at least tell Ron and the others that you aren't angry with them, then?"

"I am angry with them," I mumbled. "Just because I know the future doesn't mean I can tell them about it. And just because I know Harry isn't the weapon doesn't mean I definitely know what is and even if I know what it is doesn't mean I can tell them or that I should."

"So you're upset that they're curious?"

I rolled over to give her a look.

"Curious isn't the word I would use," I answered.

"Did you ever stop to think that maybe that's all they are? Just curious, I mean," she shrugged, her blue-gray eyes innocent. "I think you're overreacting to their questions; they'll always ask them. Besides, I think you're feeling guilty for not saving Mr. Weasley sooner. And jealous of Cho too. Maybe even jealous that everyone gets to be with their families for Christmas and your dad won't be with you."

I frowned at her and leaned back further into the pillow, but twisted around so that I was facing her now. But she wasn't done speaking yet.

"And that's a lot of bad emotions to feel at once. I think you should at least try to feel better, or let some of the others help you feel better. It's bad enough that Harry is feeling lonely but maybe once he sees that he has less reason to feel that way than you do he'll start to be himself again."

"Ali, you're smart for a second-year Ravenclaw," I said slowly. "But I don't think it's that easy all of the time."

She shrugged one shoulder and brushed some loose hair behind her ear. "We won't know unless you try."

I snorted. "Alright, fine, I'll come out of my room. That does not mean that I'm going to go out of my way to get Harry downstairs though."

She frowned at me and cocked her head to the side.

"He's hanging out up in the attic," I clarified, sitting up and stretching my arms as her face cleared.

She stood up and went over to the door, pausing to look back over her shoulder at me. I rolled my eyes at her as she began to tap her foot impatiently.

"I said I'd come," I sighed, standing up. "Did you not believe me?" I asked as I reached the door.

"Nope," she grinned, popping the 'p'.

I shook my head at her and looked up towards where the staircase to the attic stood.

"I thought you said you wouldn't go get him," she sing-songed at me.

I gave her a look and she giggled, ducking away as I reached out to shove her. She stuck her tongue out at me and skipped away, probably heading for her and Ginny's room.

I sighed again and made my way up to the attic. I paused as I lifted my hand to knock on the door. Maybe going to him wasn't such a good idea; it was predictable and he did have to learn how to deal with things on his own, didn't he? I lowered my fist and brought my other hand around to rub the back of my neck. Besides, what was I supposed to say to him this time?

I shook my head and turned around, sliding down against the door to sit and lean against it. I wrapped my arms around my legs and frowned. I sat like that for a little while thinking about what I would say before realizing rehearsing a one-sided conversation wasn't going to help any. Suppressing a snort, I heaved myself off of the ground and turned to face the door once more. I knocked quickly, waited a moment only to hear no reply. Rolling my eyes, I opened the door to find Harry sitting on top of an old chest, glaring at the floor.

"Don't you think this scenario is getting a little old?" I suggested, coming into the attic and shutting the door with a snap behind me.

"Would you stop pretending please?" he muttered, not moving his eyes from the ground.

"Gladly, if you'll explain what you're talking about," I replied, consciously focusing on not rising to his tone.

"Look, we both know there's something wrong with me now. You don't have to pretend anymore."

"I don't have to pretend what exactly?" I insisted, choosing to ignore the entire first half of his statement. Denying there was anything wrong had been my first instinct until I remembered the horcrux.

He lifted his angry gaze from the ground to meet my eyes. His jaw was set in a way that reminded me of James and his eyes looked like they could light a fire.

"How long have you known that I was a weapon?"

"Well aren't you Mr. Modest?" I returned coming forward now that I was sure I'd be able to stop him from yelling at me. I sat down on an overturned bin beside him. "I know your disarmer is strong, Harry, but I wouldn't say that makes _you_ the weapon. It's more like your wand is a weapon."

"Stop it, Kailey," he snapped, looking away from me.

"No, Harry, you stop it," I snapped back, shocking him into looking back at me. "So you read Voldemort's mind, big freaking deal. That doesn't make you a weapon and even if it did sulking about it wouldn't fix anything."

"You think so, do you? Would you care to explain what would fix it? All the others are-"

"Wondering why you're so worked up. And guess who they accosted when you weren't around for questioning," I paused to glare at him and his expression faltered. "Honestly, I'm getting sick of your moping, Harry. If you're so freaked out about all of this go and talk to your parents. It may interest you to know that they'd very much like to talk with you."

"It isn't that simple, Kailey," he replied, shaking his head. "You think you've got problems with your dad? At least you can talk to him without it being awkward or forced."

"I've only known he was my father a year longer than you've known your parents, Harry," I reminded him acidly, my patience having flown out the window. I stood up abruptly. "And you're right; at least I can be honest with the people I care about."

He scoffed at me and stood up.

"Sure you _can_ be honest, Kailey, but how many secrets are you keeping right this moment?" I felt my face heat up and his eyes flashed dangerously. "That's what I thought. So, if you don't mind, I think I'll wait to take your advice until you've tried it out for yourself."

"Fine! You want honesty from me? Here it is; I think you're acting like a spoiled brat!" I exploded, shoving him in the chest. "I'm sick and tired of having to come and get you out of these moods!"

"Why do you do it then?" he shouted back. "Or can't you tell me that either?"

"It wouldn't matter even if I did!"

"What the bloody hell is that supposed to mean?"

"Just forget it! Go back to your sulking and see if I care!" I snapped, turning on my heel and heading back out the door, slamming it with such a force that I wouldn't've been surprised if the portrait had started screaming.

I managed to refrain from stomping down the stairs, but I nearly knocked Sirius over as he turned a corner.

"Easy, Kailey," he said, reaching out to steady me. "What's going on between you and Harry?"

"You heard that?" I asked, forcing myself to keep my tone in check.

"I think my mother was the only one who missed it, thank Merlin," he added with a roll of his eyes. "Are you alright?"

"Why don't you go ask him?" I suggested, jerking my thumb behind me towards the staircase. "He's in a most pleasant mood," I added sarcastically.

Sirius chuckled slightly at that, which brought a slight smile to my face.

"Don't worry, I'll straighten him out for you," he winked and before I could demand an explanation, he was already halfway up to the attic.

* * *

_Keena's Point of View: _

"Wake up! Wake up! It's Christmas!" Alianna came bounding into our bedroom at seven thirty, just ten minutes after I had managed to get Aradia to fall back asleep.

Sirius groaned something unintelligible and rolled over, pulling his pillow over his head. He had been up late talking to Harry about something he refused to share with me. I assumed girls, but didn't press for details. I shook my head at him and sat up slowly, stretching before Alianna came racing into me.

"Oof, Alianna, easy, love," I murmured, though I wrapped my arms around her just the same. We sat comfortably for just a moment before the baby began to whine. I sighed, but Sirius chucked his pillow aside before I could move and sat up.

"I'll get her," he said, standing and going over to Aradia's crib. "Now we know why you were awake earlier," he loud-whispered to her. "You were warning us that your big sister was coming!"

Alianna stuck her tongue out at him before looking up at me.

"Can I open presents now?" she asked, giving me puppy-dog eyes.

"I thought we put them at the end of your bed last night?" Sirius frowned, looking over to see me nodding in agreement.

"But I want to open them with you," she pressed, hugging me tighter for a moment.

"Alright, go on and bring them down then," I conceded, laughing when she bounded out of the room as quickly as she had come in.

Sirius sat down beside me, holding the baby and leaned over to give me a kiss on the cheek. I leaned into his shoulder and smiled as I looked down at our youngest daughter as she reached up to grab at my hair.

"Happy Christmas, Sirius," I whispered before leaning down to tug my hair out of her hands. "And happy Christmas to you, baby."

A loud bang from the hallway made Sirius and I both jump, but for some reason that only made Aradia giggle. We looked at each other before I stood up and headed to the door. I laughed when I saw that Alianna had dropped the majority of her gifts when she tried to open the door. She looked up at me and glared.

"It's not funny, mum!" she said, but she was unable to keep a straight face for very long.

Once she had opened all of her gifts, most of which were books on one subject or another, the four of us headed downstairs to the kitchen. James, Remus and the twins were sitting at one end of the table, exchanging pranks by the sound of it, while Lily and Molly were working on breakfast. Alianna went around wishing everyone happy Christmas individually before circling back to listen to the boys tell stories, asking Sirius if she could hold her baby sister now that he had joined in on the storytelling. I rolled my eyes as Sirius and James began bickering over whose idea it was to prank the Slytherin common room first year and went to join Lily and Molly.

"Happy Christmas," I greeted, standing just out of the way of the cooks. "What's on today's menu and how can I not burn anything?"

Molly chuckled and Lily rolled her eyes at me.

"Don't worry, Keena, I'll find something that you'll be able to do," Molly assured me.

"I wouldn't count on that, Molly," Remus called, breaking away from the other boys for a moment. "Did I ever tell you about the time she tried to make microwavable macaroni and cheese?"

"Shut up, Moony," I grumbled, giving him a look.

"Microwavable?" Fred asked, ignoring the look on my face.

"It's a muggle thing, a small oven that's simple to use, supposedly," Remus paused to grin wickedly at me. "All she had to do was add some water and put it in the microwave for a predetermined amount of time. Absolutely no work required."

"How in Merlin's name did you mess that up, Keena?" James asked, grinning at me.

"It was not my fault," I insisted. "I did everything the instructions said to do!"

"Yet somehow half of the noodles were undercooked and the other half was liquidated," Remus finished airily.

I groaned as they all began laughing. Everyone had finally settled down when Molly gave me a searching look.

"Perhaps you had best stay at the table for now, dear," she said kindly, though she was grinning widely and the laughter resumed once more.

I huffed and turned on my heel, sitting down on the bench beside one of the twins. Before I could figure out how to retaliate there was a loud rapping on the window. We all turned to face it to see that it was Errol, with what seemed to be a wrapped package. Fred and I exchanged confused shrugs as Molly opened the window to let the poor bird in from the cold.

Molly's horrified gasp stopped all of our confused glances and we all looked up at her.

She was staring at the wrapped parcel with an expression of the deepest sorrow. Her face began to crumple and she allowed Lily to steer her over to the table with no protest.

"What is it mum?" George asked leaning forward to see what the parcel was.

"I-it's—" she sniffed greatly and Lily leaned over to see the label that she was gesturing to.

"It looks like Percy's Christmas gift," she murmured, though it was loud enough that we all heard her.

Fred and George exchanged mutinous looks.

"Don't worry mum," Fred began.

"Yeah, Percy is just a humongous pile of—"

"Boys, why don't you all go upstairs for a bit?" I suggested as the look on Molly's face colored as the twins attempted to comfort their mother. "Alianna, if you could take Aradia as well?"

The occupants of the kitchen scattered, ushered out by James and Remus, the former having experience with an upset wife and the latter having the common sense to know when he was out of his league. The door shut behind them and I waved my wand in time to silence all sounds of Molly's sobbing as Lily removed the package from her view.

"Molly, it's alright," I soothed, moving to sit closer to her. "He'll come to his senses soon."

"B-but how soon?" she spluttered. "Arthur w-was at-attacked! And P-P-Percy hasn't ev-even asked about h-him! W-what if s-something happens a-and we h-haven't made up!" she wailed.

"Oh, Molly, you can't think like that," Lily said, sitting down on Molly's other side. "Everything will work out in the end. We're all going to get through this somehow."

"H-how can you p-promise that?"

"What I think she means is we will all do our best to keep one another safe," I began when Lily didn't seem to know how to continue. "As well as keeping one another's children safe and loved. No one is going to get left behind regardless of what this war brings."

**I hope you've enjoyed this chapter. I am aware that microwavable macaroni and cheese wasn't around back in the 80s but oh well (btw, the mac'n'cheese story is true, don't ask me how I did it, I still don't know). Christmas part two will be coming to a computer screen near you soon! Reviews make me smile (and update faster as it turns out). Until the 19****th****! **

**:-D**


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter Nineteen: Of Christmas and Potions Masters

**I disclaim; anything recognized as famous is not mine. **

**Hoping your new year is full of achievement and good reading! Enjoy!**

_Kailey's Point of View: _

I simply couldn't do anything but stare at them.

It was Christmas morning and Hermione and I were in the process of opening our presents. So far I had gained _An Advanced Guide to the Arte of Potions_ from Hermione, a large carton of chocolate frogs from Ron, a set of new, colorful quills from Sirius and Keena with a matching set of new inks from Remus, a copy of _Potions for Pranks_ from Alianna, a silver charm bracelet with a golden serpent already attached from Snape, the standard Weasley hand-knit sweater (in lilac) with sweets and a small golden lioness charm with what I suspected to be real rubies for eyes from Lily and James. All of this I had lain aside so that I could stare at the last gift before me.

"Those are beautiful," Hermione breathed, smelling slightly of the perfume that Ron had for some reason seen fit to give her. "Who're they from?" she asked, looking up at me and frowning.

"Harry," I answered quietly before looking back at them again. "How do you think he found them?"

"Or when," she added. "But they'll go brilliantly with that necklace your dad gave you."

"Yeah they will…" I trailed off. They were earrings, each with one gold and one silver snake looping itself around the other to fashion into hoop earrings. I peered closer at them. "Hermione, that's got to be crystal, right?" I nearly choked when I realized I wasn't seeing things; the snakes each had miniscule eyes made of something that suspiciously looked like diamond.

"I dunno, Kailey, it might be—"

"It can't be because I only got him a book on the theory of Defense and Dark Arts!" I interrupted, feeling as though I should've come up with something better to give to him. "How in Merlin's boots did he even afford these?"

Hermione gave me a look.

"Stop panicking," she commanded sternly.

"Who's panicking? I only screamed at him yesterday," I returned sarcastically.

"From what you told me last night, he goaded you. And if he really wanted to, he could have taken them back."

"But what about…_her_?" I asked, disgust filling my voice as I referred to Cho as though she were something filthy.

"Well I expect he got it for you before that happened," she answered frankly with a shrug of one shoulder. "But it's like I said, if he really wanted to, he could have taken them back."

"If he remembered about them," I muttered under my breath, gently lifting one earring out of the box they had come in. "I suppose it'd be rude to not wear them, right?"

"Kailey, come off it," she shook her head at me, shoving me in the shoulder. "Put them on and let's get dressed; I expect everyone else is already up," she added, glancing at her watch and moving back over to her side of the room.

Once we were both dressed and I had donned my new earrings and bracelet, we made our way down to the kitchen, meeting the boys halfway there as they came out of their room. We were passing by the room with Sirius' family tree (currently covered by a massive Christmas tree) when Harry tugged on my arm.

"Talk to me a moment?" he requested, jerking his head towards the empty room.

I glanced at Hermione, who turned her head away pointedly, grabbing Ron by the arm and marching him away. I rolled my eyes at her before following Harry into the room. He shut the door behind us and took a deep breath as he turned to face me.

"I'm sorry about yesterday, Kailey," he said, his eyes on the ground. "I shouldn't've snapped at you, you were only trying to help. You're only ever trying to help me. I know I've been a right pain in the arse this year, I really don't know why…well, I do, but it's no excuse."

He glanced up at me, his glasses balancing on the edge of his nose.

"Say something?" he requested when I didn't respond right away.

I sighed and looked away from him for a moment, absentmindedly brushing my hair behind my ear. It was an apology and it was Christmas. I looked back at him to see that he was staring at my ear, smiling faintly before he regained control of his expression. I smirked at him and stepped forward to give him a quick hug.

"Merry Christmas, Harry," I said as I pulled away.

"Happy Christmas, Kailey," he grinned in reply.

Side by side, we made our way down to the kitchen where everyone else was gathered for breakfast. Mrs. Weasley was slightly red-eyed, but her face was dry and she hugged the life out of Harry and me when we entered the kitchen, wishing us a happy Christmas. During the time between lunch and breakfast, Harry went off somewhere in the house with his parents to discuss something. Alianna dragged her parents back to where her gifts were apparently strewn about their bed so that she could have them to herself for a little while under the guise of needing to organize all of her new books. Remus, Hermione and I all opted to exit the kitchen where Mrs. Weasley was bustling about, giving orders to her children about one thing or another.

The three of us agreed to meet in the (thankfully) sanitized library, armed with new books that were in need of being read. I had picked twelve potions to try out of the _Advanced Guide_ when Mrs. Weasley's voice floated up the staircase, calling everyone back down for lunch. I glanced over at Hermione and almost laughed at the look of disappointment on her face. She caught my gaze and gave me a dirty look before closing her book with a tight snap, which caused Remus, whose nose was still inside of his own book, to jump.

"How offended do you suppose she'd be if I said I wasn't hungry just yet?" he asked lightly as we made our way towards the suddenly crowded hallway.

"You go ahead and see how that works out for you," I said, shaking my head. "I, on the other hand, am not willing to face her wrath."

Hermione and I both giggled at the look on his face.

Lunch was as delicious as I knew it would be and soon we were all trooping out the door to meet Mundungus and his "borrowed" car. Keena, holding Aradia, looked skeptical about entering it, but was sitting with the baby buckled in next to her a full five minutes before Mrs. Weasley gave in and sat down beside them. We sped through London, arriving at the hospital in record time if Keena's muttering about Mrs. Fig's driving skills was anything to go by. Our glaringly large party trickled its way into the hospital (in an attempt to make our large party appear smaller) where Mrs. Weasley led us up to Mr. Weasley's room.

As everyone greeted him, I glanced across to where the werewolf was supposed to be staying, but the bed was made-up and empty. I smiled slightly at that, assuming he had either not been bitten or was receiving the Aconite Solution instead of treatment at the hospital. I was boosted back to reality a moment later when Harry tugged on my sleeve.

"C'mon, we're going to go find the tearoom," he muttered, pulling me away from the disbanded group as Mrs. Weasley began to build up steam.

"Oh, right, stitches," I smirked, following the others out of the room quickly.

* * *

_Keena's Point of View: _

"So they actually sew people's skin together?" Sirius and James were giving Lily and Remus looks of utter disgust. I rolled my eyes and adjusted the sling where Aradia was napping.

"Wouldn't that hurt?" James persisted as we made our way back from the tearoom working under the assumption that Molly had cooled off by now.

Lily shrugged.

"I never had them."

We were on the fourth floor when a door to one of the more secured wards opened behind us followed by a call of "Professor Black!"

The five of us stopped and turned to see Neville hurrying to catch us, his grandmother following quickly.

"Goodness sakes, Neville, this is a _hospital_! There is no need for shouting," she admonished, adjusting her hat.

"Sorry, Gran," he apologized before turning to face us again. "Happy Christmas, Professor," he grinned.

"You as well, Neville," I answered. "And happy Christmas to you, Mrs. Longbottom," I added to the severe looking woman. "I don't know if you remember—"

"Oh, of course I remember you, dear," she interrupted. "As well as your renegade husband and his friends; Frank always told the most outrageous stories about you five. Of course, Alice got her fair share in as well," she nodded back towards the ward behind us. "And now Neville speaks most highly of you; I can't even begin to explain to you how much his grades have improved, Keena, I really wasn't sure what we were going to do with him."

I caught Neville's pleading expression, though his grandmother seemed to have missed it. That's when I remembered about his wand.

"Actually, I'd been meaning to owl you, Mrs. Longbottom," I said, hoping to be able to pull off a professional tone with the woman Frank Longbottom had so often told funny stories about during the first war. "Do you think you could spare a moment for a quick chat?"

"Why certainly," she replied, giving Neville a stern look.

"Neville, Harry and the others are around here somewhere if you'd like to go find them," I suggested, removing Aradia from the sling and handing her to Lily while I gave the sling to Sirius.

"They're back in the ward," he replied with a nod, taking my suggestion without a hesitation.

"I'll meet you back in Arthur's ward," I added to the others, choosing not to wonder about why the kids were in a long term ward in the first place.

Once we were alone, Mrs. Longbottom drew her wand and produced two chairs, setting them down next to the wall. She sat down and I followed in suite, carefully preparing what I wanted to say.

"What's his trouble?" she demanded without preamble.

"I wouldn't label it as a 'trouble' Mrs. Longbottom, seeing as it's easily fixed," I answered, shaking my head. "His wandwork has improved beyond recognition and don't even get me started on his potions. But I am concerned about something else."

"And what might that be?" she asked when I didn't add anything right away.

"Well, as I've said, his wandwork is far better than it was, but there's still more potential there," I explained. "But Neville brought something up that troubled me, Mrs. Longbottom. He was asking why he wasn't as good at Charms as his father. I hope to have your approval, but I told him that our strengths do not always lie in the same places as our parents. Then he asked if he shouldn't be better at Charms anyway because he was using Frank's wand," I paused, carefully taking in the elder witch's expression.

I had expected anger, denial, refusal, but I had not expected pure sorrow.

"I know it hurts," I said softly when she made no comment. "And I won't tell you that you need to let go, that isn't my place. What I will tell you is that Neville needs his own wand and not to be compared with his father or mother. You should see him in the greenhouses, Mrs. Longbottom; Professor Sprout adores him."

"Yes, I know his fascination with Herbology," she stated stiffly. "But if Frank's wand isn't used then…it makes it seem like he's…" she trailed off as words failed her. "Do you know what it's like to lose your child?"

"I lost her during the war," I replied just as softly.

"You were able to have another."

"You have another; let Neville be his own person and you'll see the amazing wizard he can become," I answered instead of trying to explain Aradia and her fourteen year old soul.

She heaved a heavy sigh and looked back up the ward where her son and his wife remained, where her grandson now visited.

"I'm sure a wand would make a very nice Christmas gift for him," I added.

She looked back at me, her eyes squinting as though they could stare inside of me. After a great sniff, she stood up abruptly.

"Thank you for your time, Professor Black," she stated formally. "I will see Ollivander about what you've suggested if Neville is agreeable. Or perhaps, even if he is not," she added before turning away and heading back up the corridor.

I suppressed a relieved sigh and stood up, vanishing the chairs with a flick of my wand and was about to turn back down the hall when I heard my name being called. I glanced behind me to see Kailey sprinting towards me.

"I need to know," she paused to breathe for a moment. "Do you know Broderick Bode?"

"Yes," I frowned at her. "Why?"

"You need to come back up the ward," she said, reaching out and grabbing my arm, tugging me towards the ward where Mrs. Longbottom had disappeared only moments before.

We entered the ward to find Hermione arguing under her breath with Ron about something and Harry, Ginny and Alianna exchanging long-suffering expressions. Neville was explaining something to Mrs. Longbottom who was giving Kailey a strange look. Kailey, on the other hand, ignored all of them, leading me down the ward to where I was surprised to see Bode sitting up in bed.

"Mr. Bode?" I muttered in confusion. "What happened to him?" I asked, looking back at Kailey with a feeling of alarm.

"What does he do for the Ministry?" she asked instead.

"He's an Unspeakable and that's all I can tell you," I replied, frowning.

"Oh, do you know Mr. Bode?" chirped a voice and I turned around to see a plump, pleasant looking Healer standing behind me. "He hasn't had any visitors at all, you know. Hardly even a gift today either! But someone did send this calendar," she held up a calendar with images of dressed-up hippogriffs. "And that plant, too," she said, gesturing to his bedside.

"Someone gave him that?" we all wheeled around at Neville's question. He looked shocked as he stared at the little potted plant. "Why would you even let that thing into this ward?" he demanded angrily, stepping closer to us despite his grandmother's protest.

I looked back at the plant. It had long tendrils that were swaying slightly, but didn't seem dangerous.

"What is it, Neville?" I asked slowly, reaching out to move the plant further away from Bode.

"Don't touch it!" he shouted, coming forward and pulling me back from it. "It's a Devil's Snare!"

Hermione and Alianna both gasped and the Healer looked as if she might be ill.

"Healer, I suggest removing the plant," I stated firmly, taking out my wand and casting a patronus, watching the silver dog as it bounded off. "Also, you might want to think about moving Mr. Bode to a secure ward."

* * *

_Kailey's Point of View: _

We returned to Grimmauld Place not long after the others turned up in the ward. They had placed the plant inside of an unbreakable glass case and the Healer had called for security. Within moments of the arrival of the two burly looking wizards in deep, purple robes, we had been escorted out into the hall, questioned very briefly and then told to leave the hospital. Dumbledore, it turns out, somehow caught wind of what was going on and was awaiting our return when we arrived.

"You may well have saved a life today, Ms. Snape," he had said before leading the adults into the kitchen while we were ordered upstairs.

"Forget 'may have' I know I did, or at least prolonged his life," I muttered under my breath, though I felt myself beginning to shake as I realized just how true the statement was. Bode would live longer than he would have if I hadn't interfered, but that did not guarantee his safety.

I noticed Harry's gaze a moment later and sighed when he quirked an eyebrow.

"Let's at least make it upstairs?" I suggested, placing a hand on the railing and heading up the steps, followed closely by the other seven.

Ron and Harry's room was closest, so that is where we took our party. I hopped onto Harry's bed, shifting his pillow so that it was positioned between me and the wall. Hermione and Ginny settled on the foot of Ron's bed and he sat down at the head of it. Alianna joined me on Harry's bed, coming to sit beside me, yanking the pillow out from behind me so that she could arrange it to sit evenly behind us. Harry and one twin sat at the foot of his bed while the other twin forced Ron to move his legs out of the way after shutting the door behind him. They all stared at me expectantly and I sighed.

"Why is it so important to save Bode?" Hermione asked after a pregnant silence.

"You mean other than the fact that he's a human?" Ginny countered, though Ron and the twin beside him exchanged knowing looks.

"No, she means why was it important to get Keena involved," Harry replied before Hermione could come up with a good come-back of her own.

"Bode works for the Department of Mysteries," I answered with a shrug. "He was targeted and I figure if they can figure out why, it'll only help with my most recent plan."

"You have a plan?" Alianna asked, frowning. "For what?"

"Need to know," I shrugged. I was met with groans and many eye rolls. "You asked," I added defensively.

"Yeah and you barely answered," Ron replied with a shake of his head. "Why can't we know about it?"

"Because if all goes as planned I'd rather none of you have the idea of it planted in your head."

"That's a big 'if', wouldn't you say, Fred?" George, apparently, offered from next to Ron.

"Considering how her last 'if' worked out, I'd say I agree, George," Fred nodded from beside Harry.

"Your last 'if' resulted in dad being in the hospital," Ginny added with a glare.

"Yes," Alianna agreed. "Instead of in the morgue."

"Morbid, Ali," I stated after a heartbeat of silence, shaking my head.

"But accurate," Harry muttered and silence fell again.

I played with the end of my sleeve for a moment, staring at the threads of the sweater with a vacant fascination.

"Did you know about Neville's parents?" Ginny asked suddenly.

"Neville's parents?" George asked, frowning and exchanging a confused look with Fred.

Ron shot Ginny a glare and she shrugged in reply.

"Yeah I knew," I answered quietly. "Since before I met him," I added before any of the others could ask.

"Care to enlighten us?" Fred requested.

"It's not really my secret," I admitted before sighing. "But his parents were tortured for information, just after Voldemort's first downfall."

"And that has what to do with this conversation?" George asked after the two took a moment to digest the information.

"They went insane," Harry concluded before I could figure out how to phrase it delicately. What am I thinking? There's no way to make that situation delicate. "They live in the long term spell damage ward, where Bode was being kept. Neville and his grandmother were visiting his parents for Christmas."

"Good thing too," Hermione added softly. "How else would Kailey have gotten someone to realize what the plant actually was?"

"But we've all seen it too," Ron argued, glancing around the room. "In first year, with the stone and everything."

"Yeah, but when did we ever see it acting tame?" Harry countered.

"She could've hinted at it till one of us caught on," he shrugged.

"As if you'd catch on," Ginny mumbled, though we all heard it and Ron's ears went pink.

"But that just gets us back to Bode," Hermione interrupted before the siblings could begin to argue in earnest. "Why target him and why use such a difficult plant?"

"Because obviously he didn't die on schedule," I answered, shaking my head. "The plant was clearly them trying to tie up loose ends."

"Who?" Alianna asked.

"Death Eaters," Harry answered when no one else would.

"Oh, right," she mumbled, turning a pale shade of pink.

We all stayed quiet for a few moments longer before Ron snorted. I looked over at him, wondering for a moment about his sanity.

"Cheery lot, aren't we?" he voiced when he realized we were all staring at him.

* * *

_Keena's Point of View: _

Dumbledore surveyed the group of us quietly for a moment as we arranged ourselves around the kitchen table. Molly waved her wand at the door, though I doubted the kids would bother trying to listen to us when they could just ask Kailey. When her movement ceased, Dumbledore placed his hands together, leaning back in his seat.

"I only have a very vague idea of what has transpired today at St. Mungo's," he admitted quietly, his eyes sweeping our group before settling on me.

"I didn't know Bode until this past fall," I said, shaking my head before he could even ask. "He didn't work in Spell Inventions."

"In which division did he work?" the old man pressed.

I rolled my eyes. "You know I can't say; he's an Unspeakable and that should be cause enough for your concern."

"You may not be able to say," he agreed before his twinkling blue eyes landed on my husband. "But you, Sirius, are not under the same oath."

"That doesn't mean he's safe to say," Remus argued before Lily or I could speak up. "The Department of Mysteries has many enchantments that are in place for security; we don't know what they may have done to keep Sirius from talking about what he saw."

"Don't you think I might realize it if I were cursed?" Sirius demanded, sounding wounded.

"Bespelled would describe it better," Lily corrected. "And no, I don't think you necessarily would."

"And it isn't really imperative for us to be the ones to tell you who Bode is," Remus added. "You could just ask Kailey if she knows."

"She'll _love_ that," James said, rolling his eyes.

"And I don't think she does, since she asked me if I knew him," I added.

"Very well, then we shall have to assume that the enemy believes that Bode would have been capable of delivering to them what they desire," Dumbledore conceded. "Did he seem as though he were on the mend? Perhaps he could identify his attackers."

"He didn't respond at all, even with Neville shouting at me not to touch the Devil's Snare," I answered, shaking my head. "But if he wasn't going to get better, I doubt Kailey would have intervened so quickly. Especially since he didn't seem to be in any immediate danger."

"You don't consider having a pot of lethal plant seated next to you 'immediate danger'?" Molly asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Devil's Snare, deadly as it is, usually doesn't act unless provoked," Lily answered.

"You mean like if a group of eleven year-olds decided to fall into a pit of the stuff?" Remus suggested lightly.

"Bode will be in need of constant guarding now," I stated before anyone could say something stupid. "Which the Ministry will provide up to a point; they might think he hurt himself while participating in illicit activity."

"I'll see if Orion or Jeremy would be willing," Dumbledore replied with a nod. "I would rather have people there who are aware of the severity of the situation."

"As well as people who are in a good position to hear what Bode has to say should he recover," Sirius added under his breath, though James nodded in agreement. Dumbledore only inclined his head.

"There is something else which we need to discuss," he said after looking around to see that no one else had any last minute additions to make. "About Harry," he added, his eyes resting on Lily and James.

"What about him?" James asked, his eyes narrowing.

"Does it have to do with his vision?" Lily suggested, leaning closer to James for a moment.

"Do you know why he had it?" Sirius demanded.

"I can only assume that there is a connection between Harry and Voldemort," he said lightly and I frowned.

"You've known that, sir," I stated. "Ever since we found out about Harry speaking Parseltongue."

"Yes, but we did not yet know to what extent that connection went."

"And now we do?" Remus asked.

"We have a better idea of it, yes," the headmaster nodded. "This is not the first vision-like dream that Harry has had. And since we know Voldemort is a capable legilimens, I think it would be wise to begin teaching Harry Occlumency."

"Who exactly would be teaching him?" James asked, still giving the headmaster a cold stare. "You?"

"No, James, unfortunately I do not think that Professor Umbridge would approve of these private lessons," he said, though it was not difficult to catch the weariness with which he spoke of the current DADA professor.

"Then you're thinking about Keena doing it?" he pressed.

"I'm not exactly the best at Occlumency, James," I answered, shaking my head and starting to understand why Dumbledore was beating around the bush.

"You want Severus to do it," Lily murmured.

"No," James said firmly. "I don't think that's going to work."

"James, you know that Severus is as loyal as you—"

"I do not want him going near my son's memories," my brother snapped.

"So you'd rather he continue to see people being attacked by giant serpents?" I countered, shaking my head. "You know how much he wants to be normal, why not let him learn this?"

"I'm not saying he shouldn't learn," James grumbled. "But I still don't trust Snape. Not with something like this."

"But you've seen how he is with Kailey, why would you think he wouldn't be just as careful with Harry, even if it is only for her sake?" I argued.

"Then why haven't you sent Alianna to him for extra lessons? I'd be willing to bet Occlumency would work just as well for her and those dreams," he challenged.

I felt my face heat up with anger as Dumbledore made a noise of curiosity in his throat.

"What dreams are these?" he wondered aloud, but James didn't have the decency to drop his glare.

"They are nothing to worry about, Sybill is working with her," Sirius replied when I made no move to do so. "Her methods won't work with Harry just as Alianna's dreams won't be quelled by Occlumency alone. And as long as you act as though you're okay with this, James, I doubt that Harry will have a problem with it. Especially since he's trying to patch things up with Kailey at the moment."

"I think it's a good idea to have him work with Severus," Lily volunteered.

While this statement may have settled James if the subject was anyone aside from Snape, it only seemed to make him angrier. He shoved himself away from the table and marched out of the room. Lily sighed and looked at Dumbledore.

"You have my consent," she stated tiredly. "I'll get his eventually as well, but let's not tell Harry about this until I do."

"You think you'll get him to agree before school starts?" Remus asked, raising an eyebrow and nodding towards the door that James had shut tightly behind him.

"He doesn't really have a choice," she answered, shaking her head before sighing. "If you'll all excuse me," and with that she followed James' footsteps.

I sighed and shook my head, noting that Remus and Sirius were exchanging looks.

"Would you like to stay for dinner, headmaster?" Molly offered, the bench scraping against the floor as she pushed away from the table to stand. "It will only be light, since our Christmas lunch was so heavy."

"Thank you Molly, but no, I should return to the school," he answered, standing up himself. He bid us all a quiet farewell before stepping into the emerald flames and declaring, "Headmaster's office, Hogwarts."

There was just one moment of silence in the kitchen before Molly gave a great sigh.

"Albus Dumbledore is a great man, but of child raising and parental emotions, he knows nothing," she stated when we turned to face her questioningly. "Obviously your brother is jealous that he is unable to help Harry with what's going on right now."

"And Snape is," I agreed, nodding my head. "That'll only add salt to the wound."

"I just hope he's mature enough to not behave that way around Kailey," Remus muttered, flicking his wand towards the door to get rid of the silencing spell.

* * *

_Kailey's Point of View: _

It was four days after Christmas before any of us brought up James' sudden grumpy attitude. At breakfast, on one of those rare mornings where all of the Hogwarts aged occupants were in the kitchen at once, Alianna had brought up a question about Potions homework.

"I'm surprised you haven't already done it," I teased, laughing when she stuck her tongue out at me.

"I am done with it, I just want to make sure I'm right," she said once she had finished making faces at me.

"Why bother? Snape'll dock you points just for being in a different house," Fred stated, giving me a wink. I rolled my eyes.

"C'mon, Kailey, we all know he does it," George laughed.

"Not always," Ron disagreed. "He's pretty fair in most of our classes."

"Did that start before or after Kailey guilted him into it?" Fred asked.

"After," I answered with a smirk. "You lot should just be grateful that I get him to take points off Slytherin at all."

"One would think a _good_ professor wouldn't need to be convinced by a fifteen year old," James grumbled from his place beside Lily.

She shot him a look, but he was glaring at his plate.

"He's just keeping his cover up," I stated, trying to keep the defensive edge out of my tone.

"It's a cover that he built up for himself; no one said he had to favor the Slytherins."

"That's got nothing to do with how he does as a teacher," I argued. "And I think keeping the potions room from exploding on a daily basis is a more important factor to think about when considering how good of a professor he is."

"And how does he teach? By making his students fear him?"

"James—!"

"People are not afraid of him," I said firmly, cutting Lily off.

"I find that hard to believe," he scoffed.

"Don't you have anything better to do than make fun of my father?" I snapped, slamming both of my hands down on the table and standing up as I glared at the bully in front of me. "Or was Lily right all those years ago? Are you still just an arrogant bullying toerag?"

The room seemed to freeze up and even the adults were looking at me in shock. But I wasn't finished yet.

"I know my dad isn't perfect, he's made plenty of mistakes in his life. But did you ever stop to wonder at why he might have made them? What do you think it was that pushed him to do the things that he did?" my voice was rising even though no one was stepping in, telling me I'd said enough. "But despite all of that, guess what? He's going to be a hero in his own way. And _your_ son," I said, my hand whipping around to gesture to Harry, who was sitting shell-shocked beside me. "Your son is going to call _my_ _father_ the bravest man he ever knew."

The past-tense slipped out before I could stop it, but I didn't care. I shoved away from the table and headed for the hallway before I stopped abruptly and turned to face the table, where everyone froze in the middle of exchanging bewildered looks.

"And Mr. Potter, it may interest you to know that you are nowhere near as brave as I expected you to be."

Taking a page out of Harry's book, I didn't stop ascending the stairs until I hit the attic. I paced for a little while before dragging the overturned bin closer to a wall so that I could sit down and lean back. I counted to twenty slowly a few times before there was a knock on the door. I stared at the door, waiting for whoever it was to either come in or go away. Ron opened the door.

"Drew the short straw?" I asked lightly, though I couldn't quite hold onto the smile I tried to give him.

"Nah, I've got the longest legs," he smirked coming in and finding something to sit on nearby.

"On a scale of one to furious, how mad is Harry?" I asked as he settled himself.

"At you? Probably around a five or six. At James, though," he shook his head. "He definitely has his mum's temper, I think."

"What do you mean?" I asked slowly, leaning forward in curiosity.

"Well, Lily was just about to start yelling at his dad, but Harry cut her off," he explained. "He didn't shout at first, that's probably why you didn't notice, but he said something like 'I'm not really surprised by any of what she just said; Snape is probably one of the bravest men I know' and then he added Sirius in and Remus too. He even added my dad."

I felt myself turning red.

"I didn't really mean it," I muttered. "About James not being brave; I mean, he's actually died before and he's still fighting."

"I don't think he did either," Ron admitted. "But then he started going off, you know how he is," I nodded in agreement and Ron continued. "We all cleared out after that. He and his parents were still in the kitchen when Hermione thought that one of us should go and talk to you."

"And you were chosen because you've got longer legs," I finished.

"Well, no, that's why I was chosen to check that attic," he shrugged. "But here we are, anyway. Do you have any clue why James is so worked up?"

"If I were a betting girl—"

"Which you should be."

"—I would say it has to do with Dumbledore visiting and Harry needing Occlumency lessons."

"Harry needing what?"

"Occlumency, the art of keeping one's mind safe from one's foes," I explained. "A very complex branch of magic that would make it harder for Voldemort to touch his mind. And would you please not flinch like you've seen an acromantula?"

He rolled his eyes. "So what does that have to do with James getting angry?"

"My dad is the one who's supposed to teach it to him," I answered with a shrug. "Not that it's a pleasant experience; he tried to teach it to me a bit before third year. I gave up, told him I'd probably get myself killed before I gave anything away."

"I'll bet he liked hearing that," Ron snickered.

"About as much as he likes hearing anything when it comes to Moldy pants and his Death munchers," I grinned.

He snorted, shaking his head.

"I hope Harry finally gets all this angst out," I admitted after a moment of silence. "Then maybe we can all relax a little."

"You mean, maybe it can be your turn to fall apart a little more often," he offered lightly.

"I fall apart often enough as it is."

"Yeah, you do," he answered. "Alone."

I didn't answer, feeling our light-hearted conversation slipping away.

"And, while it might work for your dad, I don't think being alone is something you're good at, Kailey," he admitted seriously before sighing. "I know you'd rather it be Harry, but until he gets everything figured out, I want you to know I'm there for you too. You're—you're like the sister I never had."

"You've got Ginny," I offered, trying to keep the mood from falling away completely.

"Well, yeah, I've got Ginny, but she doesn't hang around with me on an almost daily basis," he answered. "I know you better than I know her."

"Fair enough," I replied, offering a tentative smile. "Thanks, Ron."

"Any time," he returned with a smile of his own.

**I figured it was about time Ron got his time to shine. I hope everyone's holidays went well and that your new year is exciting. Sorry it took so long again, but if you've kept with it this long, you know I won't abandon! If there's interest in seeing Harry finally facing off with his parents, let me know! In the meantime, please review! Until chapter 20!**

**:-D**


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter Twenty: Hate and Understanding

**I disclaim all recognized as famously belonging to JKR**

**Please enjoy!**

_Keena's Point of View: _

I exchanged a look with Sirius as the door to the kitchen slammed closed. He sighed and shook his head, standing up and heading out of the room so that he could go and quiet his mother's shrieking. I winced slightly as Aradia's cries became audible once my mother-in-law was silenced.

"I should—" I began, standing up.

"No, no, I'll tend to her," Molly offered, hurrying out of the room. "And I'll send Harry and Lily down as well," she added over her shoulder, leaving me alone with a confused looking Potions master.

"I don't suppose you could explain your brother's hostile attitude?" Snape suggested lazily. "It isn't as though I am unfamiliar with the treatment from the arrogant—"

"Severus," I snapped before he could finish the sentence. He paused and inclined his head. "I won't ask you to forgive James, but if you could understand where his frustration is coming from, perhaps you won't jump to conclusions."

"So explain," he replied. "Preferably before your nephew arrives."

"At first it was just the fact that you can help Harry and he can't," I began.

"A blow to his ego, no doubt."

I gave Snape a look, though he only returned it.

"A few mornings ago, he stepped out of line. In front of all of the children," I placed delicate emphasis on 'all'.

His face soured.

"Kailey yelled at him first, which she had every right to do, but Harry yelled at him next. I'm sure you'll be quite satisfied to learn that Harry thinks rather highly of you," I added and was satisfied myself when I saw the spark of confusion grow on Snape's face before he had a chance to control it. "Of course not long after he informed the entire table of that, he told his father just how…lowly his thoughts are on him."

"So Potter is angry with me for being better liked by his own son?" he surmised.

"Oh, please, Severus," I replied, shaking my head. "He's a fifteen year old boy with some serious parental issues. We all know Harry was lying about how much he cares for his father."

"You've yet to have any true altercations with Ms. Black, then," he returned. "It doesn't matter if one knows one's child is lying, it's the fact that they say it at all."

I didn't reply and before the silence grew uncomfortable, the door to the kitchen opened as Harry let himself into the room. He looked between me and Snape for a moment before cocking his head to the side.

"Sorry," he said, backing towards the door. "I think Mrs. Weasley confused me and Kailey."

"You may both have dark hair, but that's where the similarities end," I smiled, gesturing for him to come and sit at the table. "Did you run into your mum on the way down?"

He nodded. "She said to go on and start without her, she was going to try and get dad to come down. What's going on?"

"The headmaster has decided that you are in need of Occlumency lessons," Snape stated bluntly.

"Occlu—what?"

"Occlumency," he repeated, sneering.

"It's a branch of magic developed to keep your mind safe," I interrupted; one angry male Potter in the house was plenty. "Highly complex, but very useful," I added as Snape snorted at my watered down description.

"Why do I have to learn it?" he asked, turning to face me and frowning. "Is it because of that—nightmare?"

"In addition to the others, yes," I answered with a nod.

"Who's going to be teaching it to me?"

"I am," Snape replied, not even bothering to cover up his displeasure.

"Why not you?" Harry asked, looking from Snape to me again, doing a rather poor job at hiding his own displeasure as well.

"I'm not exactly the best in the world at Occlumency, Harry," I answered with a slight shrug. "Professor Snape is one of the best Occlumens we know."

"You will come to my office at six o'clock on Mondays. If anyone asks, tell them you are coming for remedial potions," Snape took over.

"And when they ask why I'm not just going to Keena for that?" he asked. "Or why I'm not just getting help from Kailey?"

"I doubt anyone will ask," I replied when Snape didn't. "There's only so much I can teach students about Potions, only being a tutor and all."

Harry looked unconvinced, but as he opened his mouth to say something, the door to the kitchen opened once more. The three of us looked up to see James, face blank, standing in the doorway with an irritated Lily behind him. They entered and she shut the door behind them while he went over to take a seat on my other side, away from both Harry and Snape.

"Hello Severus," Lily said, coming to sit on Harry's other side. "I'll assume everything went well?" she added, looking around between the three of us, ignoring James when he snorted.

"Mum, do you know Occlumency?" Harry asked suddenly, as though the thought had just occurred to him.

"No, love, I don't," she answered, shaking her head. "It was one of those things I never got around to learning. But I'm sure you'll manage it wonderfully."

She glanced up and shot James a look, which he didn't see as he was stubbornly facing away from her. I elbowed him in the ribs and he glared at me, though I returned the look, jerking my head towards his wife and son.

"Of course he will; he's a Potter," James stated firmly, glancing towards Snape to see his reaction.

"Which I suppose means he'll be too arrogant and stubborn to admit defeat. Superb qualities," Snape replied, pushing away from the table to stand.

_Very wise, Severus, rise to the idiot's bait…_

I tensed as James stood beside me.

"I'm warning you now, Snape, if I hear one word about you giving Harry any trouble with these lessons, I swear—"

"You'll what? Fake another death and go back into another hiding place?" he sneered, turning towards the fireplace.

"Don't talk to me like you did anything different for your daughter!" James shouted.

"Excuse me?" he growled, turning back to face James head on.

"You heard me. How dare you stand there acting as though you aren't hiding in a web of secrets all your own? The only difference between you and me is where we hid ourselves. Lily and I were found out, so what?" he stated, raising his head arrogantly. "It's only a matter of time before you are as well. And what is your daughter going to think of you when your true colors show?"

"Are you insinuating that I have lied to her?" he whispered, his black eyes glinting dangerously. "That I _abandoned_ her?"

My eyes flicked down Snape's arm, noticing the fabric of his robes shifting slightly. I took a hold of Harry's arm.

"Yes."

The red light that flared across the table was deflected by James' silver shield, brought up at the last second. I shoved Harry to the ground, putting a shield of my own up as the duel truly got underway.

"Shouldn't we do something?" Harry shouted as Snape ducked a curse that caused the sink faucet behind him to melt.

"First thing is to get you out of range," Lily growled, her ferocious green eyes looking back and forth between the duelists as I pulled Harry up beside me while keeping the shield between us and any wayward spells. "Second thing is to break them."

"You mean break them up, right?" Harry asked nervously, tearing his eyes away from where his father had just narrowly avoided a violet flame of some sort.

She didn't answer as she opened the door and pushed him out.

"Get Sirius and Remus too if he's back!" I called after him as she shut the door.

"You're acting like I won't be able to handle them," she muttered. "Disarm them on the count of now?" she added, aiming her wand.

"_Expelliarmus_!" we shouted in unison, me aiming for James while Lily took Snape out.

They both blasted towards the back of the kitchen while their wands came flying to Lily and me. She caught Snape's and handed it to me, pocketing her own before marching forward to where the two men were recovering their breath. Loud footfalls warned me just before the kitchen door flew open revealing a confused, if annoyed, Sirius with the kids all trying to get a look in behind him before Molly came bustling through and shooed them all away.

"What do you have to say for yourselves?" Lily seethed, her face betraying all of her anger and then some according to the way that both men shrank back and looked away. "Well?"

Snape opened his mouth to reply, but she decided that she didn't want an answer.

"No. I'll tell you what you need to say. You are both the most immature, self-absorbed _arseholes_ I have ever encountered! Do you have _any_ idea what you could have done just now? It's bad enough that you can't get along in front of the children, but to duel in front of _my_ _son_?" James cringed but Lily wasn't done. "I don't care if you never like each other, it wouldn't be anything new, but you will respect one another! Even if that means you have to totally ignore the existence of the other! Because regardless of what either of you think, we are currently fighting the _same fight_! And even when that is over with, you'll still have to deal with one another because like it or not your children happen to be _best _friends!" Now Snape looked ashamed as well. "I'm absolutely disgusted by the two of you! And I swear to Merlin's grave and back again, if you _EVER_ fight one another with _my_ child or even _yours_, yes, Severus, your _daughter_, in the room again I will hex you _so_ _hard_ that there will be no evidence to convict me with! Am I understood?"

Neither of them looked at her, though each nodded.

"Good. Now, apologize to each other," she ordered.

Still not looking up, both men stuck out a hand, shook once, hard before taking several steps away from each other. I heard Sirius stifle a snigger behind me and I thrust my elbow back, colliding with his arm.

"Sorry," he mumbled beneath his breath. Luckily for him, it was only me who had heard.

"Now, both of you wait here. Keena, you may give them their wands back now," she added as she turned and headed out of the kitchen, leaving the door wide open behind her.

I shook my head and took out their wands, holding them out towards them silently. James took his with a quiet 'Thanks' while Snape only nodded at me. Both were still looking resolutely away from each other. It was all I could do to keep from rolling my eyes.

"So…what happened?" Sirius asked, after glancing at the door to see that Lily was truly gone for the moment.

I glanced at the other two for a moment, considering.

"I'd call it a repeat of fourth year, fall term."

"Fourth? Not fifth year, spring term?"

"No, definitely fourth," I replied with a shake of my head.

He let out a long whistle.

"And you all like to go on about how _I_ never grew up," he muttered, shaking his head.

James threw him a look and Snape rolled his eyes.

Noise from the hallway stole our attention and the four of us turned to face the door to see Lily leading Harry and Kailey, both of whom were looking warily at the back of Lily's head. I heard James groan behind me and I swear I heard Snape mutter "You've _got_ to be joking," but I didn't want to turn around to see since Lily's anger was nowhere near deflated.

She halted once inside the room, gesturing for the kids to sit down at the table before throwing a pointed look at their fathers. The men sat across from their respective children slowly, careful to keep as much distance between them as possible. Sirius and I glanced at one another, shrugged and sat down a little bit away from the five of them. I noticed Lily and Sirius, like me, both still had their wands out.

"The two of you are now going to apologize to the children before you explain exactly why it is so wrong for you to behave like spoiled, rotten prats," Lily announced. "Because you are both fathers and I like to think that neither of you have condoned this sort of behavior from either one of them," she added, gesturing to Kailey first and then Harry.

For the first time since Lily and I had broken up the fight, Snape and James exchanged worried glances.

* * *

_Kailey's Point of View: _

"Oh, Hogwarts, how I have missed thee!" I sang out as we entered the castle before sighing happily, ignoring Ron as he sniggered while Hermione rolled her eyes at me. Harry had settled for looking at me as though I were insane.

"You missed school? Why?" he asked, continuing to give me the same look.

"Because at Hogwarts when things don't make sense it's normal," I replied matter-of-factly, lifting one end of my trunk up and beginning to drag it towards the staircase. One of Umbridge's rules was no magic after all.

"Things like what?" Hermione asked, frowning. "Are you having trouble with homework?"

"No, Hermione, she's talking about our dads," Harry answered, shaking his head and following me up the stairs. Hermione gave him a confused look. "When they had to agree about what is and isn't acceptable behavior?" he probed and her face cleared.

It had to have been the most awkward fifteen minutes of my life. My dad had actually stumbled over his words as he was speaking to us. I had actually seen him cower under Lily's glares. I hadn't even known that he was capable of feeling intimidated. James had been oddly quiet for most of it, only inserting himself when appropriate, which was another strange thing to see. He had taken me aside after my dad had left to apologize to me alone, though. He hadn't asked for forgiveness or anything, just said that he was sorry and hoped that I didn't think less of him for his childish attitude. I had forgiven him anyway, which seemed to relieve him some and I figured it was because it would make him one step closer to gaining back some of Harry's forgiveness as well. I hadn't seen the point in dampening his spirits.

Over the course of the next day, though, I found myself wishing to be back in the tense atmosphere we had left behind. My dad was back to ignoring me and the students who didn't believe our story were back to whispering. Umbridge was in a good mood when we spotted her at the head table, though I honestly had no idea why. Keena and Sirius didn't seem worried, though, so I ignored it for the time being. Then there was also the reality that Harry had kissed Cho the night before we all left.

Harry hadn't brought it up at all over the break and I had only complained about it to Hermione and Alianna. He had just finished explaining to Smith that he was going to have Remedial Potions with my dad when the subject of my jealousy showed up.

"Hi Harry," she said, causing him to whip around in surprise.

"Hi," he replied a little distantly, as though he had no idea what he was supposed to say to her. His eyes flicked towards me and I realized I had a slight scowl on my face.

I quickly turned on my heel and began walking away.

"We'll be in the library, Harry," Hermione stated loudly behind me, grabbing Ron's arm by the sound of their hurried footsteps, before following me towards Pince's lair. Once we were far enough away, Hermione grabbed my arm instead. "I know you don't like her, but you can't glare at her like that."

"I didn't mean to," I replied sourly. "Just because I have an inner b-"

"Kailey, I mean it," she interrupted.

I rolled my eyes and looked up at Ron, whose eyebrows rose as he shrugged at me from outside of Hermione's line of sight.

"You're seriously defending him about this?" I asked Hermione instead. "I mean really, how stupid is he? Does he not get the fact that I almost died for him last year?"

"So you really do like him, then?" Ron asked before Hermione could respond.

Hermione and I both stopped and stared at Ron.

"What? Clarification never hurt anybody before," he defended.

Hermione snorted and I shook my head as we began walking once more.

"It's not like it matters," I sighed. "If he felt the same way he wouldn't be dating another girl, would he?"

"He's just acting on Sirius' advice," Ron stated with a shrug that brought Hermione and I to a dead stop once again. We stared at him until he spoke up again. "He said that Sirius told him that Keena told you, Kailey, that making Harry jealous would get him to notice you sooner."

"So…Harry's solution was to go out with another girl?"

"Yeah, to make you jealous instead."

"So he knew I'd be jealous?"

"Yeah."

"If he knew then why didn't he just ask me out instead?"

Ron shrugged. "Because he misunderstood what Sirius was telling him."

"Are you sure?" Hermione asked, frowning.

"Yeah, that's part of what he and Sirius talked about for so long after you two fought. Sirius re-explained himself again," Ron shook his head. "He'd've been better off just telling Harry to ask you out if you ask me. Now he's stuck with Cho."

"He could just break up with her," Hermione pointed out fairly.

"He could…" he paused, giving me an apologetic look.

"If he didn't like her too, you mean," I sighed and shook my own head. "Right?'

He tried to grin at me.

"Just don't tell him I told you guys; I'd like to stay alive at least until I turn seventeen."

Hermione rolled her eyes and gave me a look that clearly said "boys".

That night, the three of us were doing our homework in the common room when suddenly a sheaf of parchments landed on my lap. I raised an eyebrow at the stack that was hindering my capabilities to lean forward to check my astronomy charts. I looked up to see the twins staring at me expectantly before looking back down at the parchments, this time a little more carefully.

"Are these _all_ of the potions you want me to check?" I asked, feeling a little bewildered as I thumbed through what must have been twenty recipes.

"Don't worry," Fred started.

"They aren't all finished yet," George added.

"We're not quite sure how to get some of them to work, you see," Fred continued.

I stopped thumbing through at a parchment where only the title of the potion was listed.

"You want to make a potion to turn people into dragons?" I asked, lifting the sheet out and raising an eyebrow.

"Don't be ridiculous!" George laughed.

"It's called 'Dragon Transformer'," I pointed out monotonously.

"We're still working on the name," Fred replied, the smile still on his face.

"We just want people to breathe fire," George grinned.

"Temporarily," Fred added.

"That can't be safe!" Hermione cried.

"It will be once we've finished it," George pointed out.

"It's probably not even legal!" she continued on as if he hadn't said a word. "Half of those probably aren't even legal!"

"And half of them probably won't even work for another few years at least," I put in, thumbing through the parchments again. "Considering a lot of them are just names or scribbles."

"You still can't work on them here! It's against school rules," she huffed. "Tell them Ron," she added when the twins just snorted at her and I smiled.

"D'you think Snape will take points off if I put an extra eel eye into this, Kailey?" he asked, totally ignoring Hermione.

"He might," I said slowly, frowning. "No, wait, let me see," I retracted, reaching for his homework. He handed it to me and I frowned at it.

"Ron, you're supposed to help me," she growled as I consulted the ingredients.

"Wouldn't you rather they get her help than poison someone?" he groaned.

"They shouldn't be making these things at all!"

"An extra eel eye might actually cut down on the brewing time," I interrupted, handing the sheet back to Ron. "Though you'll have to mention that to get the points or he'll just chalk it up to a mistake."

"He'll probably call it a mistake anyway," Fred inserted.

"It's not as though Snape doesn't know Ron is nothing in Potions," George agreed.

Ron's ears turned pink, but he said nothing.

* * *

_Keena's Point of View: _

"Sirius, Keena," my head snapped up at the sound of my name being called.

Sirius and I were sitting in our living room area, me checking over student work and Sirius playing with the baby, who had woken up screaming half an hour ago with no intention of being settled unless she was being held by her father. However, rather than annoying me I was a bit relieved that she didn't need my attention at the moment. Even though it was just the beginning of term, several fifth and seventh years had already met with me, asking if they could set up a regular meeting time. But all thoughts of school flew from my mind at the look on the headmaster's face.

"What's wrong, sir?" Sirius asked slowly, as though he didn't really want to hear the answer.

"I'll need the two of you to report to the Entrance Hall within the next few minutes," he said gravely.

"Of course," Sirius replied, though I glanced at the clock. It was half past nine at night.

Before I could ask anything, though, Dumbledore's head vanished.

"What in Merlin's name…?"

"Sparky," Sirius called, shaking his head at me instead of replying out loud.

He explained to the house-elf quickly and soon we were hurrying towards the Entrance Hall. We arrived to see that the rest of the staff, including Umbridge, was assembled, all murmuring to one another in hushed voices. I searched out McGonagall's face to see that the Deputy Headmistress looked quite pale. Unconsciously, I moved myself a little bit closer to Sirius.

"Everyone is here?" the sound Dumbledore's voice resulted in a sudden hush. "Very good, I will make this meeting brief and plain. I have just received word from the Ministry of Magic—"

"I'm terribly sorry, Headmaster, but are you quite sure of that? I have not received any sort—"

"Dolores, please," he interrupted her and she looked at him in shock and anger for a moment. "As I was saying, I have just received word that there has been a mass break-out from Azkaban prison."

It felt as though my stomach had dropped through my feet as I stared at the headmaster, now gripping Sirius' hand tightly.

"As such, security at the school is being heightened considerably. We will double our shifts and I will ask that you all reinforce wards around windows and doorways. Passwords into the common rooms will no longer be given out to all teachers and I am personally going to install censoring wards on each of the common room entryways to ensure that only students and teachers are able to get in and out, if they have the proper password. Do you have any questions?" he paused, looking around at all of us.

"How many are there?" Sirius asked into the silence, no one else willing to voice the question.

"Ten," he replied quietly, but firmly.

Sirius nodded, but nobody else moved. The question now burning in everyone's throats suddenly found its way up through mine.

"Who?"

Dumbledore looked straight at me.

"Of the list of them, the two names I recall most vividly are Bellatrix Lestrange and Augustus Rookwood," he stated.

"Rookwood?" I asked hoarsely, feeling ill at the thought, flashes from my encounter with him during the war springing to the front of my mind. "He's loose?"

"Yes," he replied matter-of-factly. "Rest assured, this castle will be as safe as I can make it," he added, looking over his glasses at me.

Despite his reassurance, I felt my breathing increasing. Sirius wrapped an arm around me, pulling me close.

"Is there anything we can do tonight?" Sirius asked and the attention turned back to Dumbledore, though a few of the professors were looking at me strangely, likely not knowing about the incident with the Death Eater.

The next two hours were spent reinforcing the wards around Hogwarts, both on the grounds and within the castle. At one point, Sirius and I were up in the Owlery and a hoot from one of the birds scared me enough that I dropped my wand.

"Keena, they won't bother coming here tonight," he said calmly, bending to pick up my wand before handing it to me.

"I know, I know," I murmured, turning red. "But that doesn't help me any. Damn it, Sirius, how did they get out?"

"You know how they got out."

"You are unbelievably good at comforting me, you know."

"I know I am; you're smiling now, aren't you?" he pointed out and I forced my smile into a pout as he gave a final sweep of his wand towards the windows. "C'mon, I think we're finished in here."

"What d'you suppose Fudge will make of all this?" I asked as we began our descent back to the Entrance Hall where we would sign off on the areas of the castle that we had taken care of.

"I'm not sure," he shrugged. "Considering how rational he's been lately, I feel like one of us is likely to get fallout."

"Why, gee, love, you don't say?" I teased.

"You asked," he defended. "I just hope they don't ask for details on how I did it. The only reason they couldn't before was because of the whole Veritaserum rule. Now they might just say they need to know."

"We'll tell the truth," I replied with a slight shrug. "I gave you your wand and you used it to get out. Those locks aren't exactly fancy, they don't need to be. Besides, it's not like you were chained up or anything while you were in there."

He sighed, shaking his head.

"I don't think they chain anybody up in there, it's not like there's much of a point to it."

"Well, Bellatrix was," I answered softly.

"You saw her in there?" he asked, frowning at me.

"Yes," I replied shortly, not looking at him.

* * *

_Kailey's Point of View: _

Three nights after the mass breakout was the earliest that Harry could manage to get everyone together for the DA meeting. It also happened to be one night after his second meeting with Snape. Both times he had gone, he had come back looking exhausted and nauseous. Even tonight he still looked tired.

"Maybe you should let Kailey and Hermione run this one?" Ron suggested while the four of us walked to the Room.

"I'm fine," Harry mumbled, rubbing the heel of his hand against his forehead.

"Yeah because having your brain picked apart by my dad is _so_ easy to handle," I retorted, rolling my eyes. "Seriously, Harry, I don't know if you're going to be able to react properly when Neville misses his target or if Seamus blows something up."

"Seamus doesn't come to the meetings," he grumbled at me, giving me a strange look.

"Yet," I shrugged. "It's only a matter of time now that there's been a breakout."

"I can't believe you're acting so casually about it," Hermione said, shaking her head at me. While the other three had reacted (normally) with fear to the news, I had hardly looked up from my breakfast. "And I still can't believe you didn't tell Dumbledore," she added in a hiss.

"And exactly what would he have been able to do differently? He already warned Fudge this could happen. What's the point in me adding extra stress?" I argued as we halted in front of the patch of wall while Ron began to pace back and forth in front of it.

"Maybe he would have tried hard—"

"Dumbledore has more to worry about than ten crazy escapees at the moment, Hermione. There are other aspects to this war," I pointed out, stepping forward as Ron held the door open for us. "You just do what you can do and I'll do what I can do," I added, turning around and walking backwards into the room.

"Can you do something she can't?"

I jumped and turned around to see Neville looking at me with open curiosity, a book in his hands.

"Hey, Neville, didn't see you," I replied, I bit quicker than I probably should have.

"I decided to come a bit early," he answered with a shrug, stowing the book into the bag on his shoulder. "I just finished studying with Professor Black and didn't feel like making the trip up to the common room when I could just come straight here."

"What were you studying with her?" Hermione jumped in.

"Charms," he said slowly, looking between the two of us. "But you didn't answer my question, Kailey."

"Well, I'm better at Potions than Hermione is…?" I trailed off when his curious look turned to a frown. "Look, why don't you just ask me what it is you really want to know," I suggested, glancing up to see that Ron and Harry were keeping the other members busy helping to set up as they arrived.

"At St. Mungo's," he began in a whisper after a moment's consideration. "You knew that it was Devil's Snare and you knew that bloke was important to the Ministry. How did you know what the plant was? Not that you're bad at Herbology but that was a tamed sample. And besides, the others were all surprised about my parents, except for Harry which I thought was weird too at first but…last year when that fake Moody performed those curses in class…" he paused and shook his head. "You knew when he was going to shout, I jumped a foot in the air! You didn't move once. And afterwards you asked if I was alright. You didn't ask Harry if he was alright."

"I-I've seen Devil's Snare before," I whispered, looking around to see that the others were still preoccupied.

"And what about my parents? How did you find out about them?" he insisted.

"Harry and I heard about it in Dumbledore's pensieve, granted we shouldn't've been in it but—"

"And Moody's speech?"

I sighed, exchanged a look with Hermione and looked back at Neville.

"I…know things. Before they happen," I replied, looking at my shoes before I looked at Neville to see that he looked unsurprised. "How long have you suspected?"

"Last year was when I started really thinking about it. There've been a few times when I've heard you four talking. Course, I dunno if anyone else suspects," he admitted with a shrug. "I won't tell, though. You've kept my parents to yourself, it's only fair."

"Thanks Neville," I smiled, feeling a bit of tension that I hadn't noticed release.

"Alright, everyone, let's gather round!" Harry called.

Neville offered up a small smile and he, Hermione and I headed over to be with the rest of the group as Harry began to explain the pros and cons of the Impediment Jinx.

**Finally it's here! I hope you enjoyed it and I hope you're patience haven't frayed into nothing! I've said it before and I'll say it again; reviews increase my writing speed. Much love to my readers and see you again in chapter 21!**

**:-D**


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter Twenty-One: Valentine's Day

**I disclaim anything recognized as made famous by JK Rowling. **

**Here's the next chapter! I hope you enjoy it! Also, please give me a little wiggle room with the grammar for this one, it's sorta 2am...**

_Keena's Point of View: _

I shut the door behind me, leaning back against it and sighing deeply in relief. It was February and February only meant one thing: Valentine's Day. Or, according to a castle full of hormonally challenged adolescents, Single's Awareness Day. I couldn't decide which of the two names were worse to hear about from the students.

"Long day in the office?" Sirius called from his seat in the middle of the couch where he was comparing two pieces of parchment. He looked up and I noticed he had a bit of black ash on the side of his face.

"Some of the girls need a good snog, but I can't exactly tell them that," I replied, shaking my head. "And the boys…I'd refer them over to you, actually, if that bloody decree wasn't around."

His face broke into a mischievous grin and I couldn't help the smile that the look brought to my face. I came forward and sat down beside him, leaning into him when he wrapped an arm around me.

"I think it'll be better once it's March."

"I think you're being over dramatic."

"What's your point?" I smirked, looking up at him. He only chuckled. "What happened to you, anyway?"

"What are you talking about?" he frowned.

"You've got ash all over your face," I replied, reaching up to wipe it away as best I could.

"Oh, that," he answered with a sigh. "I walked in on the end of a fight…literally."

"You didn't hear it going on?" I asked, the corners of my mouth twitching.

"Maybe 'walk' is too literal. I was heading for them anyway, but Crabbe doesn't have the best of aim," he informed me.

"Crabbe?" I frowned. "Who in the world was he fighting with? And since when does he fight using his wand and not his fist?"

"I can't answer when that started up, but he was fighting with Ernie Macmillan of all people."

"The Hufflepuff?"

"The one and only."

"You caught a _Hufflepuff_ fighting in the halls?" I asked in confusion.

"Well, according to this," he said holding up one of the parchments. "Crabbe was bothering Susan Bones about her family 'again' and he stepped in to get him to stop. He claims that Crabbe pulled his wand out first."

"Which is probably true; have you ever heard of a Hufflepuff starting a duel?"

"You know I haven't," he rolled his eyes. "But it's making sure I've got the evidence that's important; I don't want Crabbe to be able to complain to Umbridge about this."

"Alright, so explain the ash," I suggested, satisfied with the story. Susan had already come to talk to me about having to deal with people pointing and staring ever since the news of the deaths of her family members at the hands of one of the escaped Death Eaters had gotten out.

"Crabbe tried to use Fiendfyre, I think," he admitted quietly. "He botched up the incantation, but I'm pretty sure that's what he was going for."

I took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

"What did he tell you he used?"

"Just Incendio, but I know what I heard. I'm just glad I got there when I did; I doubt Ernie would've known how to put up a good shield in time."

"And considering you got hit with the backlash anyway…" I sighed again. "This is why I don't want to bring her with me to the office anymore. This castle is falling apart," I said, nodding my head towards Aradia's room.

"At least Dumbledore was able to put a stop to Umbridge interviewing the rest of the staff; she can still only go after teachers," he pointed out. "And, like you said, March will be here soon and then we've only got to put up with her for a few more months."

"And then that damned DADA curse will force her to depart, I know," I sighed and leaned my head against his shoulder. "Remus was lucky to get away without it doing anything particularly harmful to him."

"What d'you mean?"

"Quirrell died, Lockhart has permanent memory loss and Mad-Eye was locked in his trunk all year while his imposter ended up getting the Kiss," I listed. "That curse is getting worse as time goes on, I'd say."

"Well, you ended up leaving after a duel, that's not terribly unusual."

"A duel which, eventually, cost me my job at the Ministry," I countered, shaking my head. "And now that I think of it, Remus' reason for quitting was because of that mishap with his furry little problem which may have ended a lot less happily had we not had access to a time-turner."

"I'm sure if it were something too drastic, Kailey would let us know."

"The way she let Dumbledore know about Quirrell?" I suggested quietly.

"Quirrell was different, didn't he have Moldy Wart possessing him with his permission?"

"If you hadn't noticed, Umbridge is not on Kailey's good side."

"That's dark, Keena," he stated bluntly. "I don't think she'd willingly let someone die."

"Unless it led to something else happening that needed to happen," I argued.

"Like what?" he asked, clearly not believing me.

"Like Lily and James dying so that the blood bond would activate for Harry. Like coming to the Shrieking Shack without bringing Wolfsbane potion with her to prevent Wormtail's escape and Moony's transformation. Like not stopping Voldemort from returning to human form. Like not telling us that Umbridge was going to be here, teaching and destroying Hogwarts from the inside…"

Sirius stayed quiet for a few moments.

"Keena, you were the one that was there when they died and you were still a part of her when she came to the Shrieking Shack instead of just chasing Wormtail down."

"Exactly, I agreed with her reasoning," I pulled away to look at him properly. "We don't know what she knows, all we know is that she's trying not to change too much because then she loses the advantage of knowing. Her thought process is…complicated."

"She's fifteen," he murmured, shaking his head. "I almost think she should be Obliviated."

"Don't think that hasn't crossed her mind; I'm sure it has."

He sighed and shook his head. The clock on the mantel chimed before he said anything and he looked down at me.

"C'mon, we don't want to be late for dinner; all of the good seats will be taken and I don't want her sitting anywhere near Aradia if we can help it. Severus either, if possible."

I laughed slightly at that.

"I doubt he'll make too much fun of you for getting messier than the baby this morning, love."

"It wasn't my fault! That bloody bird was going to land in the pitcher of Pumpkin Juice!"

"Yes, so naturally you pull it towards yourself and let it spill all over everything. Including the baby," I added, trying to keep my laughter in check and failing miserably.

* * *

_Kailey's Point of View: _

Hermione and I were woken up to the sound of girly shrieking the Saturday morning of our Hogsmeade trip. Also known as Single's Awareness Day. Parvati and Lavender were running around trying to find something "sexy but not easy" for Parvati to wear; she was going to be meeting some sixth year Ravenclaw her sister knew for a date.

"Kailey, Hermione, what do you think?" Lavender asked, holding up a tight fitting shirt with an even tighter fitting skirt. "Parvati thinks it's too much."

I snorted and shook my head.

"More like too little," I stated as Lavender's face fell and Hermione nodded in agreement. "Can I go back to sleep now?"

But sleep was not in the cards for me this morning because moments after I laid back down, Hermione was shaking me awake.

"C'mon, Kailey, we have to get down to breakfast before the mail comes," she said, stepping back out of shoving range.

"Why don't I save you the trouble and tell you she says she'll do it?" I suggested, glancing to see that Parvati and Lavender were in the bathroom trying to do something to Parvati's hair.

"Well I'll still need to respond to her about when and where we'll meet then won't I?" she replied, ducking when I threw my pillow at her. "Please Kailey? I know you don't want to see him with Cho—"

"That has nothing to do with anything, Hermione," I cut in, giving her a look. "Besides, they're probably not going to last anyway."

"Then why do you keep calling it his 'Single's Awareness Day Date'?"

"Because it's making me so very aware of how single I am." And how very much alone I am...

She rolled her eyes at me and threw the pillow back at me.

We left the dorm only fifteen minutes later, me dragging my feet and Hermione grumbling about my attitude. The boys were waiting for us in the common room. Ron noticed us coming down the stairs and pointedly checked his watch. Harry didn't even seem to notice us arrive as he ran his hand through his hair for what must have been the fifth or sixth time judging by how much messier it looked than usual.

"What took you so long?" Ron asked, giving Harry a slight shove when he made no move to get off of the chair he was sitting in.

"It's not like we won't have the whole day to be in Hogsmeade," I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah it is, don't you remember? They changed the rules since the breakout; we've got to be back here by six."

I gave Ron a look and he just shrugged.

"That's still more time than anybody needs to get anything done there," I replied, choosing to ignore him when he coughed something into his hand. Hermione shoved him in any case.

We made it to the Great Hall ("finally" according to Ron) and took our seats along the table, Ron and Hermione facing me and Harry. I served myself, only half-noticing that Harry was only playing around with his food until Hermione commented on it.

"Harry, what's the matter? Aren't you hungry?"

"I'm fine," he answered quickly, stabbing a piece of sausage and stuffing into his mouth to emphasize his point before going back to playing with his food.

Hermione opened her mouth to argue with him when an owl landed in front of her. The letter or, rather, the note (it appeared to be very short) taking precedence over Harry's discomfort.

"You know, it'll be more embarrassing if your stomach growls while you're with her, Harry," I said lightly while Hermione read.

"I guess I didn't think of that," he muttered, beginning to eat normally.

"Harry, listen, I need you to meet me at the Three Broomsticks at, let's say, noon or so? It's really, really important," Hermione said, looking up from the note.

"Er, well, I dunno," he answered, reaching around to scratch the back of his neck. "I think Cho and I were going to spend the day together…"

"Oh, just bring her with you if you have to, please, Harry, this is very, very, very—"

"Alright, Hermione, we get it, it's _wicked_ important!"

She gave me a look but I ignored her.

"If it's that important than I guess I could—"

"Thank you Harry!" she cried, jumping out of her seat and sprinting for the dorm.

I shook my head after her and continued on with my breakfast, though I looked up after a few moments of complete silence. Both of them were staring at me expectantly.

"Don't worry about it," I said, shaking my head once more.

"C'mon, Kailey, won't we find out later today anyway?" Ron groaned, exchanging an annoyed look with Harry.

"Yeah, you will, which is why I don't think it's as important at the moment as is the fact that Harry's got to figure out how to give the slip from Sirius and Keena when they chaperone today," I answered smugly, sitting up straight to give them both a look.

"They're not coming to the village," Ron replied, glancing up at the staff table.

Harry and I looked up as well.

Sirius was glaring at his plate while Keena, sitting on the baby's other side, sniggered with McGonagall. Snape was on Sirius' other side and he looked satisfied about something.

"What makes you think that?" I asked Ron, looking away from them.

He put up a hand and pretended to whisper back to me.

"Nothing, but Harry's nervous enough about his date as it is," he answered, grinning widely as Harry's entire face turned bright red.

"Shove off; at least I have a date!"

"If you hadn't noticed, I'm going to Hogsmeade with two girls today," Ron boasted, winking at me. "Neither of which will expect me to be a gentleman," he added, making me snort as Harry rolled his eyes.

* * *

_Keena's Point of View: _

I looked over at Sirius, who was carrying Aradia in the sling. He was making faces at her and she was giggling madly at him, wriggling around. I smiled before I noticed that her hat was falling off of her head and reached over to adjust it, but he caught my hand in his and refused to let me touch it. Again.

"Keena, you've fussed over that hat at least eight times now and we aren't even in the village yet," he said, lacing his fingers through mine. "It's not going to stay on her, you might as well let it go."

"It's cold out here, Sirius," I argued, though I didn't bother trying to take my hand away from his. "And you and I both know that we'll stay awake with her all night if she gets so much as a snivel."

"She'll be fine," he insisted as we finally came through the gates of the village.

It was the first time that we were bringing Aradia with us and I wish I could say that her catching a cold was the worst of my worries. Even though I knew how unlikely an attack on Hogsmeade was, it was still my biggest worry. But Alianna had told us to say 'hello' to Remus and Tonks for her and Kailey hadn't implied that anything, aside from Harry's date with Cho Chang, was going to go wrong today. Besides, I had promised Rosemerta that I would bring the baby along for the next school trip.

I sighed and shook my head, giving Sirius' shoulder a light slap when he laughed at me. He gave me a pout and I glared at him in return. Aradia gave another shriek of delight.

"Hey, why aren't you on my side?" he directed at our six-month-old.

"Because she clearly knows who is going to be in charge of the allowance money," we looked up to see Remus and Tonks heading towards us from a different street. I tilted my head at Remus, narrowing my eyes in question. "Tonks wanted a more in depth tour of the Shrieking Shack."

"Did she now?" Sirius asked, wriggling his eyebrows at Remus, who blushed while Tonks' hair turned from its festive pink and red to a blush-colored red.

"Be nice, Sirius," I grinned, moving forward to give each of them their own hug.

"What are you insinuating, wifey dearest?" he replied sounding shocked. "Are you saying I'm as bad as your darling brother?"

"Really, Padfoot?" Remus sighed, looking away from all of us.

Sirius' grin widened.

"Aren't you even wondering where Lily and James are?" Tonks broke in, letting her hair drift back into Valentine's Day themed colors.

"No," Sirius and I answered at the same time.

Tonks and Remus looked at one another before giving us a confused look. I smiled widely and rolled my eyes. According to the last letter I had received from Lily, the two of them were "definitely, most certainly _not_ dating," no matter how often James teased or how often Molly sighed happily when they came into the room together. Oh, no, Merlin forbid the "d-word" pass through anybody's lips at Grimmauld Place.

"Why not?" Remus asked, breaking me out of my reverie.

"Alianna said to say hello to the two of you for her," I answered with a shrug. "No mention of James or Lily. Though she actually didn't mention what they were up to exactly."

"Some research on how to destroy dementors and if that relates at all to the you-know-what's," Remus answered, glancing around for a moment, though the closest people to us were a group of Ravenclaw third years, chattering loudly about finding a good bookshop. "They were heading to Potter Mansion to use the lab."

I frowned at that and looked at Sirius to see he had a similar expression of confusion on his face.

"She hates it when she has to share her lab," I said, turning back to Remus. "Why didn't James want to come?"

Remus sighed and Tonks' eyes fell to the ground, her hair lengthening and turning a pale shade of blue. The four of us paused as we reached the Three Broomsticks.

"Let's go inside, shall we?" Remus suggested when the silence didn't let up right away.

The pub was just as crowded as usual, but the population today was almost strictly students. The few adults that I saw were all sitting up at the bar, casting nasty looks at the kids as they pushed their way up to order drinks. After a quick scan, I found that I recognized most, if not all, of those grouchy faces and dismissed them as villagers who were merely put out by the fact that it was a Hogsmeade day.

The four of us found a table near the back and Sirius conjured a seat for Aradia to sit in as I slid into the booth. Remus and Tonks sat opposite of us, neither of them looking at each other or me as they did so. I was just about to say something when I heard my name being called from across the pub.

"Keena!" I looked up to see Rosemerta waving at me while her other hand balanced a tray of what I assumed to be butterbeers. "Hang on a moment!" she called when I waved back.

By the time she got over to us, Aradia was situated and Sirius had managed to get himself out of the sling. He was getting better at it; it only took him two minutes instead of five now.

"Hello Rosemerta," I grinned. "This is Aradia," I added, gesturing to the baby who had Rosemerta's whole attention.

"Oh, Keena, Sirius, she's darling!" she cried. "She looks just like you, Sirius," she added, glancing up at my husband as though to confirm it. "How old is she now?"

"Six months and change," I answered happily. "She sleeps all the way through the night most of the time now," I added, feeling proud of it for some reason.

Rosemerta laughed while Remus and Tonks chuckled.

"I'll bet that was a relief! Oh, and if you garner any nasty looks, ignore them; I told the boys that I'd only serve light while the baby was here. They drink almost every day of the year anyway, it'll be good for them to have a break from it," she added, jerking her head towards the bar of grumpy wizards. She flipped open her notepad as she finished speaking. "What'll we have then?"

* * *

_Kailey's Point of View: _

I managed to turn a snicker into a cough. It was hard work, though. Ron's expression as Luna explained Crumple-Horned Snorkacks was priceless. The three of us and Hermione (who had long since stopped listening to Luna in favor of reading a book she had pulled out of her bag) were waiting for Harry and Skeeter to show up. Just when I didn't think I'd be able to hold it in a moment longer, a prissy little huff announced the arrival of Rita Skeeter.

Hermione's book snapped shut as she looked up at the disgruntled ex-_Daily Prophet_ reporter. She smiled at the blonde witch, who grimaced in response, plopping down between Ron and Luna. Ron seemed relieved by this, though Luna raised an eyebrow at the older witch's long, broken fingernails.

"Well, I'm here. What do you want?"

"We're waiting for Harry," Hermione replied. "You might want to order something while we wait."

"Already did, sweetheart," she answered, rolling her eyes and jerking her thumb towards the bar. "Apparently someone brought a baby in so the pub is only serving light stuff for the day," she added under her breath.

No one commented on it; we had already greeted Sirius, Keena, Tonks and Remus. I only hoped Harry didn't notice that they were there, or, rather, that he didn't notice that his parents weren't there. That would just be an explosion waiting to happen.

"Yes, well, hang on…" Hermione paused as she glanced up. "Harry! Over here!" she called. The rest of us turned to see where she was waving at.

"Of course he's with the half-giant," Rita muttered. I shot her a nasty look, though she didn't seem to notice.

Harry weaved his way through the crowd towards us, though he slowed down and narrowed his eyes as he took in the party before him. He lowered himself into the seat between me and Luna, staring around.

"I thought you weren't going to be for a little while longer?" Hermione asked, glancing around behind him. "Where's Cho?"

He flushed and Rita pounced on the subject.

"A girl? Whatever happened to your romance?" she asked, gesturing between the two of us. It was my turn to flush now.

"That is exactly zero of your business," I replied firmly. "Quit looking for your quill and let Hermione explain to us all what's going on first."

She retracted her hand from her bag, giving me a strange look.

"She hasn't told you either?"

"No, so shut up and listen. It's what you're supposed to do as a reporter, isn't it?"

"My dear, my job is to gather information and present it to the public," she murmured, leaning forward and giving me a hard stare.

"Why don't you try out for facts, for once?" I suggested sarcastically.

"Do you have any that you're willing to share?"

"Actually," Hermione interrupted, a sweet smile spreading out across her face while her eyes glinted. "Yes, they do. A story that no one else has printed or even interviewed them about, can you pass that up?"

Rita's eyes seemed to bug out of her head as she stared at Hermione.

"Surely you can't be talking about the details of the Third Task?" she breathed out, her voice betraying how much she desired the story. "The only two witnesses—"

"There were at least a dozen Death Eaters there too," Harry interrupted. "Want their names? Maybe you could interview them as well."

"I would love them," she replied, looking as though it were too good to be true before her face betrayed how she actually felt.

"But only with the facts," I put in. "Word for word what we say. No Quick-Quotes Quill, no imaginary love triangles. Just cold, hard facts."

"Come now children, we must work from the public angle; how else do you expect it to be printed?"

Luna cleared her throat and I thought Ron was going to fall over right then and there by the expression on his face.

"My father says that it should only be facts that get printed," she said dreamily. "How else are people to learn what's important?"

"Oh and who does your father edit for? _The Brew's Word_ or some other silly little magazine?" she asked in a bored tone.

"No," she answered evenly, either not picking up on Rita's impatience or ignoring it completely. "He is the editor of _The Quibbler_."

Rita turned to face Hermione, her face in between furious and shocked.

"You want me to write for _The Quibbler_? Absolutely no one is going to believe this story."

"They will when it's the only interview they have from us," I replied, shaking my head. "Besides, like it or not, people have a tendency to believe the crap you spew when it's in writing. All you need to do now is write exactly what we want you to say."

She considered this for a moment, her face betraying how flattered she was by the idea.

"And no, you won't get paid," I added before she could bring it up. She opened her mouth to argue but I cut her off. "Don't _bug_ me about this."

She deflated in defeat, stuffing her hand into her handbag and pulling out a new Quick-Quotes Quill.

"Let's get this over with," she growled out, stiffening when she realized that Ron was preparing to read over her shoulder the entire time. "When did you first notice that something was wrong?"

Harry and I glanced at one another, but I looked away first.

"Well, the three of us, Kailey, Cedric and me, we made it to the cup at the same time. We figured it would be a Hogwarts victory if we all touched it at the same time," he started slowly, watching Rita carefully. "So we did and it turned out to be a Portkey."

"It took us to a graveyard in Little Hangleton," I added. "We knew right away this was all very wrong. There was a cauldron set up in front of one of the larger headstones and this figure was approaching us, all hunched over and carrying this bundle."

"I don't know how, but there was just this pain shooting through me and I collapsed," Harry added, editing his scar out of it himself. "Kailey was…" he glanced at me before continuing. "She was screaming at Cedric to leave—to apparate away and get help."

"He said he wouldn't leave us there alone," I said quietly, feeling my voice crack.

Neither of us spoke for a long moment, the noises of the pub covering up the sounds of my sniffling. I had never told the story from the beginning to anyone and it was all coming back in huge waves of emotion. The sound of someone clearing their throat got me to start up again.

"Voldemort ordered Peter Pettigrew to 'kill the spare'. I managed to knock Cedric out of the way of the first curse; I felt its heat rush over my back when I tackled him to the ground. We got up and I turned to see where he'd gone, but Pettigrew had disappeared. Then I…he disarmed me and then he stunned me."

"You were stunned by Peter Pettigrew?" Rita asked, looking up at me with narrowed eyes. "Wasn't he connected with your parents, Harry?"

"He was a good friend of theirs at one time," Harry replied with a nod. "Until he betrayed them."

She nodded. "Go on."

"He didn't take the curse off of me," Harry continued. "But I looked up in time to see him kill Cedric. I thought at first that Kailey was dead too until I saw her breathing."

"What did you feel when you thought they were both dead?"

"Trapped…alone…" he trailed off before looking up to meet her eyes. "And angrier than I can ever remember being."

She nodded and he moved on with the story.

Instead of listening to the details, I watched her hand as she wrote the words out. Her fractured manicure was depressing in a way. Who knew I would miss obnoxiously bright pink nail polish? Her hand paused at one point because it was shaking so hard. I tuned in and realized he had gotten to the part where Voldemort had woke me up. The part where he put the scar on my face.

"It hurt for a long time after that," I added in when Harry paused for breath. "It's not as raised as it used to be but every day, with every expression I put on my face, I remember that night. At least for a moment…" I ran my hand over it and looked up from her moving hand to see that she was pale.

We finished our story, ending with us in the Hospital Wing after finding out that Crouch Junior had been Kissed.

"Now, why exactly did He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named enter the two of you into this competition together?" she asked, glancing over the details.

_Oh, you know, I just casually know the future, that's all_…

"He found out somehow that we're best friends," I answered with a shrug. Telling Neville was one thing; tell a reporter was another thing entirely. "He didn't really explain it, you know, he wasn't planning on us leaving that graveyard alive."

Satisfied, she looked back down at her writings, Ron still hanging over her shoulder.

"You spelled Crabbe wrong," he pointed out at one point.

She rolled her eyes and fixed it.

"Now, Kailey, we know that your father doesn't care, but what about your mother? Did she come to see you at all?"

"No, she didn't," I answered stiffly.

"And Harry, your parents? How did they react to this?"

"The same way you'd expect them to; they were angry and scared and…well, normal parents," he didn't seem to know quite how else to put it. "They stayed with us both and so did my godparents as well as our family friends."

"Alright, well, is there anything else to add into this?" she asked, looking up when she finished scribbling. "Are you haunted by any nightmares?"

"You try fighting against Voldemort and his Death Eaters when the only thing between you and life is your own knowledge, half-trained I might add, and tell me that you don't have nightmares afterwards," I snapped my mouth shut when I realized I was being sarcastic again. "My apologies," I muttered when she raised an eyebrow at me. "This isn't my favorite subject."

She snorted at that.

"Well, I'll finish this up then if that's all you've got," she said, rolling the parchment up and stuffing both it and the quill into her bag. "Then I'll send it along to…Xylophonous?"

"Xenophilius Lovegood," Luna replied, annoyance only barely skimming her tone, though that was actually saying something when I thought about it.

"Right, of course," she rolled her eyes and stood, prompting all of us to follow.

We shook hands and she departed, and I swear she turned into a bug before she left. I shook my head and let it go. It didn't matter to me anyway.

"I think I'm ready to go back to the castle," I mumbled, feeling drained.

The others nodded and we bid Luna a goodbye as she went off to Honeydukes to find someone from the DA to hang around with, promising to write to her father again that night to tell him the interview was over.

We entered the common room to find it happily empty and I followed the other three over to the couches in front of the fire. I sat down beside Harry and just stared at the fire. Pure exhaustion was running through me as I thought over the words I had just given to the reporter. I couldn't help the nerves that followed.

What if by saying the things that we had, we only made more trouble for ourselves? Not with Umbridge, I could deal with that, but with Voldemort? Surely the Death Eater children would now be ordered to take some sort of action against us. What if we were caught unawares? Even if we fought back, Umbridge would expel us, that much was certain. Expulsion was dangerous for me; I had no one but Dumbledore defending me now and I didn't feel like that was enough.

"You don't only have Dumbledore," Harry said, cutting into my thoughts.

I blinked up at him, realizing that, one, I was crying and, two, I had been talking out loud.

"Legally, he's all I have," I countered shakily. "And if I do get expelled for this, then what? I'll be in the Ministry's pocket for sure! Of course I'll end up with the Malfoys or something and then…and then…"

He looked at me with concern, clearly realizing that this was not one of my normal breakdowns just as I realized it myself. And then, just because it could I suppose, my scar gave an enormous throb.

I completely lost it.

I doubled over, sobs shaking my entire body as I tried desperately to maintain some sort of control over my breathing and my tears. I felt him wrap his arms around me while someone else, probably Hermione, handed me a handkerchief.

"How did this happen?" I managed to choke out at one point, fighting for the air to be able to speak the words. Of course I knew how it'd happened; I'd _let_ it happen. But somehow actually voicing the words released me from a tiny bit of the pain before it overwhelmed me again.

None of them replied, though he did begin to rock me gently in his arms. Their presence and his wordless comfort did more for me than any of the verbal reassurances had done for me the night after it had happened.

Their companionship was the best Valentine's Day gift anyone could have given me.

**Voila! This story is now legal to drink in the US! Woot! I hope you enjoyed this chapter immensely and will be waiting in excitement for the 22****nd****! Reviews make me smile (thanks jessy63!) so don't hesitate to drop a question or comment!**

**:-D**


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter Twenty-two: Sacking

**I disclaim anything that is recognized as made famous by JKR. Oh and I don't own the YouTube video of "David after Dentist" either…go ahead or wonder where that disclaimer came from! Or, you know, just read. **

**I truly hope you enjoy every word!**

_Keena's Point of View: _

"Who's her mummy's little girl? You are, yes you are," I cooed at Aradia in our quarters Sunday afternoon, smiling widely when she began babbling back to me.

I loved Sundays; I could spend as much time with my baby girl as I wanted, not needing to go to the office at all. I would have loved them more if Alianna could get away with visiting us as well, but we didn't want to risk it too often with Umbridge hanging around. Even so, I got to see my older daughter almost every other day of the week with her 'counseling appointments'.

The baby was getting bigger now, of course, rolling herself over successfully every time she tried. Sparky had told me that she thought Aradia should be crawling soon, saying that her "littlest miss is a smart little miss, oh, yes, Mistress, she is, she is!" I was excited that she was about to start crawling around, but saddened that I might not see it happen. Sirius had gently reminded me that while having a job at the castle was nice, it wasn't necessary for either of us if I wanted to go back to living at home like a "normal" family.

"Sirius Black, do you know how many years I've lived in this castle?" I had asked, sitting up straight and taking my eyes off of Aradia for the first time in about half an hour. "Eleven years in total. This is where I've lived the longest and been the happiest. Besides, my other baby girl is here too."

He had backed off behind his newspaper after that.

"Who's my little girl? You are, yes you—ow!" I yelped as Aradia yanked on a piece of my hair that had just barely been within her reach.

Sirius laughed behind the newspaper and, after I had carefully removed my hair from her fist, I flicked my wand at him. He yelped rather satisfyingly before lowering the paper to reveal that he now had two pigtails sprouting from his head, held in by two large, pink bows.

"Look, Aradia, daddy's trying a new hair-do," I smiled, lifting her and standing up so that she could see him. "Doesn't daddy make a very pretty girl?"

A knock on the door sounded and Sparky practically flew from out of the nursery to answer it. Maybe she used her ears as wings.

"Take this off, now," Sirius grumbled, hiding behind his newspaper. He'd left his wand on the coffee table behind me. "Before anyone sees!"

I was just about to oblige him when I heard Sparky's greeting.

"Master Harry! How is you being today?" she squeaked.

I grinned wickedly as Sirius slowly lowered the paper.

"Harry, could you help me with something?" I called.

"You're an evil woman," he said, hiding behind the paper again.

"Yeah, sure," Harry answered, sounding bemused and coming to stand next to me. "What is it?"

"Hold your cousin for a moment," I replied, holding her out to him. He took her, his eyes narrowing as he realized that Sirius was standing up, the newspaper still concealing him. "_Accio newspaper!_"

The paper ripped as Sirius tried to hold onto it, but to no avail. He stood there, fuming, as Harry took in the scene for all of one second before he began laughing his head off. Sirius gave me a warning glare and I smiled as I removed the spell.

"What did you do to her?" he asked when he had finally calmed himself down.

"He thought it was funny when Aradia—"

"Ow!" Harry cried, interrupting me. He'd held her too close to his head.

"Did that to me," I finished with a shrug, smirking as Harry tried to get the baby to loosen her iron grip. "Got an arm, hasn't she?"

"Yeah, a little help, though?"

"Sure, c'mon, baby, let go of cousin Harry's head," I cooed, gently prying her fingers loose and taking her into my arms. "So what's going on, Harry? How did yesterday's date go?"

He slumped down onto the couch and Sirius and I exchanged confused looks before seating ourselves.

"It was a disaster. Why are girls so…so…?"

"Brilliant?" I suggested.

"Terrifying?" Sirius offered.

"Confusing," Harry finished exasperatedly. "One moment everything was fine and the next she's talking about Cedric and Roger Davies!"

"That is odd," Sirius conceded. "What brought those two up?"

"I don't know!"

"Did you mention any other girls?" I asked, frowning. I hadn't thought my nephew was _that_ bad in the female department. Until he nodded. "Why would you do that?"

"Hermione asked me to meet her and Kailey and Ron in the Three Broomsticks in the afternoon," he shrugged. "She said it was really important and that I could bring Cho too, but when I told Cho she went over funny."

"Oh, Harry, have I taught you nothing?" Sirius asked, shaking his head in disappointment.

"Apparently not," he snapped back.

I had to fight to hold in a snigger.

"You shouldn't have told her like that," my husband carried on. "You should've asked her, to make her think the decision was hers."

I raised an eyebrow and cleared my throat.

"Which it would have…been?"

"That's better," I replied with a nod. "Harry, you should have just told her that you didn't really want to go but you had promised and would she please go with you so you could get out of it as soon as possible," I added.

"Why did you need to go?" Sirius asked after a moment.

Harry flushed.

"What did you four do?" he groaned.

"Technically, just me and Kailey," he mumbled in reply.

"Merlin and Founders," I muttered, shaking my head. "Well, do I even want to know?"

"If only so you're prepared," he answered after a long hesitation.

Sirius and I exchanged annoyed glances.

"We gave an interview to Rita Skeeter and Luna Lovegood's dad is going to get it published in _The_ _Quibbler_."

I blinked hard as I stared at him.

"No use crying over spilled potion," Sirius suggested from beside me. "Besides, this could be a good thing; your story is getting out there. That's the important thing."

"Yes," I agreed, not really believing it to be completely true. "It will be good for people to see the truth."

"You're not angry?" Harry asked after a few moments of silence.

"What have you done that's wrong about this?" Sirius asked, shaking his head. "You were being honest; last I checked that was a good thing."

"I just get so tired of being secretive," Harry sighed, sounding relieved. "And I feel like this is something that I could do. Kailey even…"

"She even what?" I asked when he didn't continue.

"She finally just let it loose," he shrugged. "I think it must have been an hour that she just cried but she…she looked like she felt better afterwards. I felt a little better too," he admitted sheepishly.

I smiled at him before trading a knowing look with Sirius.

"Don't go there, Keena," Harry warned, giving me a look of his own.

"Go where? I'm not going anywhere," I replied innocently.

"You know just what I'm talking about."

"I do?"

"Yes, you do."

"Could it possibly have to do with a certain American witch who shall for all intents and purposes remain nameless in this conversation?"

He glared at me.

"And perhaps with the fact that another certain someone, who shall also remain nameless, is maybe realizing that he ruined his date half-on purpose so as to have a better shot at going out with this witch?"

"I did not!"

"Harry, we were trying to remain anonymous here," I admonished, laughing when he buried his face in his hands.

"So when are you going to ask her out?" Sirius asked after a few moments of quiet, just as the embarrassed redness in Harry's face had receded.

"It was nice talking, but I've got Transfiguration to take care of!"

He jumped up off his seat and practically sprinted out the door, leaving Sirius and I laughing loudly on the couch, Aradia giggling along with us as though she understood.

* * *

_Kailey's_ _Point_ _of_ _View_:

"So do you really think that they weren't mad about it?" Hermione asked again Monday night at dinner.

I groaned loudly and Neville and Dean both sniggered.

"If you were going to have second thoughts, why did you have us do it in the first place?" I demanded when she gave me a look.

Harry had come back Sunday afternoon from his visit with his godparents telling the three of us that they had approved of Hermione's plan. And so now, naturally, Hermione was having doubts that it should have been done at all.

"Don't you trust their judgment?" Neville asked from across the table.

Harry and Ron were both at Quidditch still, which left our normal group halved.

"Of course I do! It's just…"

"Now that someone's thought to ask for approval you realize it might have been a tad dangerous?" I suggested lightly.

"That's as good an explanation as any," she grumbled, stabbing at her plate.

"I think it's a brilliant idea," Dean offered. "Someone had to take a stand."

"Especially now that all those Death Eaters are loose," Neville added with a nod, though he was staring at his plate. "Was it hard…talking about it?" he asked after a moment where we were all chewing at the same time.

I sighed heavily, looking away from them.

"It's not like I can get away from it," I mumbled. "But talking about it makes it…real, I suppose, so yes, it was hard."

"But people have to know. You and Harry are very brave for speaking out," Neville finished.

The two of them left not too much later after that, leaving Hermione and me alone at our section of the table. By mutual, silent consent, we had decided that we would wait for the boys to get back from their Quidditch practice. Harry had been eager to get out onto the pitch for some bizarre reason that I couldn't fathom. Flying was fun and all, but dodging bludgers and searching for a speck of gold on a field? Not my idea of fun. Watching, on the other hand, was very different.

"You know I didn't say anything about it the other day," Hermione began and I started a bit, looking over at her to see that her eyes were trained on the Ravenclaw table. "But I was wondering if you could enlighten me as to why Harry came back so early from his date without his girlfriend."

"I don't think they've labeled it," I answered forcing myself to look away from Cho's back.

"So you do know something," she stated, turning sharply to stare at me. "Please tell me you didn't plan it?"

"So what if I had?" I demanded, sitting up straight. "I didn't see her risking her life for him in a graveyard," I added much more quietly.

"Did you?"

"No, he botched it up all on his own. Told her he was coming to meet you and me and Ron, probably. She's a jealous little thing, you know."

She sighed and shook her head.

"Would he still have messed it all up if…?"

"Yeah, even if I weren't here," I finished, rolling my eyes. "But I am here, and it doesn't matter anyway."

"I'm not so sure I agree."

Hermione and I both started this time and looked up to see that Cho was standing in front of us, her friend Marietta standing behind her, arms folded. I raised an eyebrow at Marietta's evil eye before looking up at Cho. She had a look on her face that I could only describe as territorial.

"Anything for you?" I asked, trying my best to keep the snap out of my voice. Sarcasm was its substitute.

"For you both, as a matter of fact," she replied, her tone conflicting with the sour expression on her face. "I want you to both leave Harry alone. He's with me, not either of you."

I blinked at her before turning to face Hermione.

"Is this real life?"

She snorted and I looked back up at Cho, smirking.

"And what are you going to do if I don't? Do you really think anything you come up with is worse than having your dad ignore you on a regular basis? Or having the entire school think you're crazy or a liar? Or maybe, just maybe, you can do more damage than Voldemort already did to my face," I hissed the end of it, pointing at the scar.

She flinched before standing up straight.

"No, but I'm sure I could turn Harry against you quite easily."

"Yeah, because I'm not his best friend or anything," I rolled my eyes before waving a dismissive hand at her. "Go away, you're boring me."

Marietta gasped in shock and Cho glowered at me before whipping around and marching out of the hall. Just as they were crossing the threshold, the boys entered the hall. Cho brushed by Harry, not even acknowledging his presence. He looked after her and shook his head, seeming more angry than disappointed.

"Are you going to tell him about that?" Hermione muttered as they came around the other side of the table.

"No, I think that's what she expected me to do," I replied quietly just before they took their seats. "How was practice?" I asked, looking up to see them dirty, grimy, and muddy but with grins so wide I thought they'd fall right off of their faces.

The match that Saturday proved to be the complete opposite of what it would have been had Harry, Fred and George actually been kicked off of the team. The few chasers that had gotten through the hailstorm of bludgers had not been able to get a good enough shot off against Ron, who allowed Gryffindor a shut-out against Hufflepuff. In addition to this, the game lasted only fifteen minutes, ending when Harry snatched the snitch out from under Fred's left foot.

The party that followed that night raged for hours before McGonagall came up and reminded us that Umbridge could very easily give the entire house detention and revoke the points the team had earned for the win. We'd all scampered up to bed, laughing and joking as people tried to imitate the ugly toad's voice. Three people tumbled down the stairs when George gave a loud croak as his attempt.

All in all, it was a good game.

* * *

_Keena's Point of View: _

Monday morning we somehow managed to snag a seat next to Dumbledore while Umbridge ended up alone at the end of the table. I situated the baby and we had a few moments of polite conversation before the mail came in.

"Harry and Kailey seem to be very popular this morning," Dumbledore observed, his tone implying that he both wanted an answer but that he also already knew what it was going to be.

"I don't suppose you read _The_ _Quibbler_, headmaster?" Sirius asked, not removing his eyes from Gryffindor table, where half of the students were opening letters that came from the flock in front of the retired champions.

"As it happens, I do," he replied, though his tone indicated that he was worried about something. "And while I applaud the effort, I'm not sure it was the wisest of choices."

"He shouldn't be punished for his honesty," Sirius stated firmly.

"Of course not," Dumbledore agreed quietly.

That was when I noticed that Umbridge was waddling across the hall. My grip on my fork tightened as I watched Harry hand her something. I could see her eyes bulging from here and her shrill cry of "detention!" was loud enough that the entire hall turned to watch for a brief moment before dismissing it as a normal occurrence. Their attention was regained again moments later, however, when Umbridge marched herself to stand in front of the table. For some reason, I thought for a moment that she was standing in front of Dumbledore. Then it hit; she was standing in front of me.

The hall turned silent.

"Have I not warned you to keep your nephew in line, Professor Black?"

_Never quite in those words, no, you haven't_…

"I'm afraid that you now leave me no choice. You are henceforth dismissed from both your tutoring position as well as your counseling position. You will poison the minds of the students no more."

No one said a word. I sat frozen in my seat, carefully keeping my features blank. Surely Dumbledore would have a plan?

"In fact, as of this moment, your position shall be removed altogether; it is a waste of resources, time and energy. The students are here to learn magic from the experts, not a disgraced Auror who didn't know when to stop her prying."

I was now silently willing Sirius to not say a word; for some reason he still had his job and if one of us did, both of us could stay. Right?

"I will expect you and your baby to be gone from the castle by noon time."

I looked beyond her, first at the Ravenclaw table where Alianna looked confused, and second to the Gryffindors. Harry and Kailey each had expressions of pure rage while Hermione looked devastated.

"I'm afraid you may not ask Professor Black to leave this castle," Dumbledore stated, looking at Umbridge, though he didn't bother to stand up, or even to set his utensils down. I held in a sigh of relief. "In fact, you do not have even the right to dismiss her."

"May I remind you, headmaster, that under the Educational Decree Number Twenty-three, the High Inquisitor has the right to rid Hogwarts of staff members that fall below the Ministry's standards," she said in a shrilly little voice.

"Ah, yes, but I'm afraid that the Ministry does not even have standards for either of Professor Black's positions," he replied airily. "Although if you could simply make her aware of the situation, which it seems has been resolved at Gryffindor table, perhaps she will be able to make the proper amends."

I looked up at Dumbledore for a moment before allowing my gaze to move back up to Umbridge. She was a funny shade of maroon that reminded me of one of Ron's Christmas sweaters. She stood there fuming for a moment before a new sound registered in the hall. It was quiet at first, one pair of hands at most, but before long the entire Great Hall was echoing with applause. I very carefully did not smile as Umbridge turned around to see that the entire student body (minus a few Slytherins) was standing and applauding.

She let out a noise of frustration before tottering out of the hall, slamming the doors shut behind her. Once I was sure she was not coming back, I allowed myself to smile, leaning back in my chair in relief as the applause died down.

"You know she'll have them write up standards now?" I pointed out when the students were finally all seated again.

"Keena, the wizards and witches who write those standards happen to be very dear friends of mine. They will also likely come to observe you in order to get an idea of what actually takes place while you work. I would not let this worry you for the moment."

I nodded and looked over at Sirius. He looked at me with a wide grin that would make most people think he was excited. However, I noticed the tightness in his eyes. He was fuming.

"That should be a new record," he said when I cocked my head to the side. "We've got the most group detentions ever set, as well as earliest detention of the year and most individual detentions. Now we can add most times almost being removed from work at the hands of bumbling Ministry fools to the list."

I laughed and some of the tightness left his face for a moment before it returned.

"How bad is that article, Dumbledore?" he asked after a moment.

"As you said, honesty should not be punished," the headmaster replied. "However, I'm afraid that it will be."

Another decree was issued not even a full two hours after breakfast. I smirked at it. If there was one thing to know about teenagers, it was to never, ever, _ever_ tell them to _not_ do something. That day more students than ever came to my office, each of them were asking for a permanent time slot for tutoring, counseling or both. It got to the point that they would have to meet in groups for tutoring or else sign up for individual time slots. My schedule was now completely full up through the end of the year.

It was also fairly remarkable how many of them left me little notes to give to either Kailey or Harry. One girl, I think her name was Melinda Bobbin, even asked me to let Kailey know that her family would supply potions ingredients for life; apparently they owned a chain of apothecaries.

When I told Kailey this, she actually squealed in happiness.

"Did she really actually say that?" she asked when I had uncovered my ears.

"Yes, she really actually did…" I gave her a look. "I wasn't aware that you brew for fun?"

"Well I didn't, since brewing takes time, ingredients and, well, money," she shrugged. "But I also sort of…" she paused and gave me a long look. "Alright, don't tell Mrs. Weasley, but—"

"Fred and George are opening a joke shop sooner rather than later?" I suggested, smirking when she tilted her head at me in confusion. "They've been coming in to get help with their Charms only they haven't really been asking about material on the curriculum," I shrugged. "But since it technically does have to do with the class…" I trailed off suggestively and she smiled widely.

"There are days when it's easier to remember that you're a Maruader," she replied before heading off to find Hermione since the boys were at Quidditch practice.

But the icing on the cake was when Sparky popped into my office right at the end of the day when I was locking the door and without a word grabbed onto my hand. Travelling via house-elf was both very close to apparating and very different. The blur of color was still there, but I didn't feel as though I was being squeezed through a tube. It felt more like controlled falling than anything.

We landed in the living room (softly) and before I could ask her what was going on, she disappeared again. Totally bemused, I looked around at the sound of a happy shriek from Aradia. Looking down, I watched as she crawled towards me from the doorway of the nursery. By the time Sparky returned with Sirius, Aradia was half-way to us, babbling as she came.

* * *

_Kailey's Point of View: _

If I had thought things would improve after the story came out and with the Quidditch team winning, I was sadly mistaken. While my name in the girl's bathrooms had been cleared for being a lunatic, the replacement was the label 'man stealer'. My first instinct when I had overheard the whisperings a few weeks ago was to laugh. First of all, Harry was fifteen and not really my idea of a full grown 'man' yet. Second of all, who said I was stealing anything? And third of all, this was implying that Harry didn't have a say in the matter at all.

Unfortunately, laughing at the idea of it apparently meant I had been confirming it as fact. So much for thinking that Cho Chang was bluffing. My response? To stop using the girls' bathrooms everywhere with the exception of our dormitory.

"I really think you should just tell Harry," Hermione said one late afternoon a few days after I had put my solution into practice. We were in the courtyard near the front staircase of the castle. With the exception of a few first year Hufflepuffs that I recognized from the DA, we were the only ones around. "It's not letting her win and do you really want him to be with someone like that?"

"Don't worry about it, Hermione, I'll just…"

"Avoid every lavatory in the school except for the one in our dorm?" she suggested dryly. I blushed. "You could always go to Keena and complain too, you realize."

"Yes, I know," I answered, shifting my gaze away from my friend. "And I did try to but her schedule is full."

"She would make time for this, Kailey."

"She can't; she's got those old scholars breathing down her neck every day."

Dumbledore's point that the Ministry did not have any standards for Keena's position was being remedied. And while I didn't think they'd be done until the end of the year anyway, I was still nervous about the condition of Keena's employment. Besides, it was only a matter of time until something irreversible took place.

Like the discovery of the DA. This was the other reason I didn't want Harry to break up with Cho. I was afraid she would chose to reveal the club herself if provoked. I sighed heavily; they hadn't gone on any other dates or even really seen each other outside of the DA, but I was still annoyed.

Luckily for me, Hermione knew not to keep pressing me.

"How do you think his Occlumency is going?" she whispered instead, glancing at the Hufflepuffs to be sure that they were still as far from us as they had been five minutes earlier.

That was where Harry was right now, with my dad and attempting to block his mind. Ron had gone down to the Quidditch pitch with a few of the others to have a pick-up game. It was a small miracle Umbridge hadn't banned them yet.

"Probably…badly."

"He really should be putting more effort into this," she huffed, turning the page of her book with more force than she meant to, at least judging by the small tearing sound and the wince she gave a moment later. "The more protected his mind is the better."

"Preaching to the choir, sister," I replied, shaking my head. "But you know him; he's stubborn and Merlin forbid anyone, much less my dad, tell him what to do."

"I know that, but it still annoys me," she answered, shaking her head. "But speaking of your dad, have you noticed he's not bothering Neville quite so badly?"

"I have but have you noticed Neville isn't asking me for help every single class? Neither is Ron, for that matter," I returned.

"Neither am I what?"

Hermione and I looked up to see Ron, happy and slightly sweaty, standing there with his broom over his shoulder. The rest of the players were trekking up to the castle beyond.

"You're not asking for help as much in Potions," I answered with a shrug. "With the exception of a few homework questions you and Neville have both-"

A scream suddenly sounded from within the castle, causing all three of us to start. I stood up and took a step closer to the castle before the scream sounded again.

"What is it?" Hermione asked, coming to stand beside me, handing me my book and bag as she adjusted her own.

"Nothing good," I answered darkly, noticing how the Hufflepuffs were looking at me curiously as well. "Let's go."

The group of us sprinted up the stairs and forced our way into the entrance hall, shutting the door behind us. Students were lined up along the staircases and the walls, encircling a truly pitiful sight. Trelawney was standing there, sobbing uncontrollably, and blubbering nonsense words that I couldn't make out from where we were standing. There were two large trunks beside her, one of them looked as though it weren't shut properly, but she didn't seem to notice them. She seemed to be staring at the staircase and her screams finally stopped once she realized how many of us were in the entrance hall surrounding her. Then she started up again.

"NO! This cannot be! I refuse to accept this! It cannot…it just…NO!"

"You didn't know this was going to happen?" Umbridge's voice simpered from the staircase that the Seer was staring at. "Surly you must have, even as incapable of a Seer you are. Didn't you realize that you would be sacked?"

"You c-can't do this t-to me! H-hogwarts is m-my home," she wailed and I just knew there must be tears streaming down her face, though I couldn't see it. "I-I've lived here for six-sixteen years!"

"It _was_ your home, but not any longer," Umbridge corrected, not bothering to be gentle about it. "The Ministry of Magic has countersigned my order for your dismissal and we expect you to be gone from the castle at once. You are embarrassing us all."

Trelawney, shoulders shaking, sat down hard on one of the suitcases, as though her legs had given out. She was rocking herself gently as she sobbed. I felt compelled to go to her but when I moved, Hermione grabbed my arm.

"You'll only make it worse," she hissed before letting me go.

So I stayed and watched with the rest of the student body as McGonagall made her way to Trelawney, followed closely by Keena.

"It's alright, Sibyll," Keena spoke gently, offering Trelawney a tissue. "You won't have to leave."

"No, of course not," McGonagall seconded without a hesitation.

"Hem hem," Umbridge's little cough sounded forced. "And on whose authority do you say this?"

"That would be my authority," Dumbledore boomed from right next to me.

I managed to keep from jumping as I realized he must have just come in from the forest to find Firenze. I took a tiny step away from him as the rest of the students parted to give him space.

"Yours, headmaster?" Umbridge giggled, sounding like she couldn't believe what she was hearing. "I'm sorry, but this is not the same case as it was a few days ago with Mrs. Black."

"Professor Black," piped up another voice. It was the old witch from Buckbeak's hearing. She was standing between the old, cranky wizard and another old wizard who I didn't recognize. Apparently they were the ones who were deciding what standards to put in place for Keena's job.

"Yes, my apologies, Professor Black," Umbridge corrected gracefully. "But Professor Trelawney has failed to meet the standards in existence for this post. I have Cornelius—oh, pardon me; we're good friends you see—the Minister's signature right here ordering her dismissal."

I looked back at Dumbledore. He was wearing almost exactly the same expression he had been when Umbridge had tried to fire Keena.

"You are right that you may dismiss my teachers if you so desire," he conceded. "But you may not banish anyone from this castle. That is still my right as headmaster."

Trelawney, tear-streaked face and all, looked up at Dumbledore like she was going to say something, but Keena laid a hand on her arm and she closed her mouth. Dumbledore continued without seeming to notice the action.

"And it is my wish that Sibyll continue to live here in the castle. Professor McGonagall, Professor Black, if you would assist her back to her quarters?"

"And where, might I ask, will the new Divination professor stay if Trelawney is keeping her lodgings?" Umbridge huffed, coming down the steps to try and look Dumbledore in the eye. It might've worked if she wasn't so short.

"Ah, well I believe the new Divination professor that I have hired would prefer to live here on the ground floor," Dumbledore smiled pleasantly, folding his hands behind his back.

"_You've_ hired? Might I remind you that under the Educational Decree number twenty-two that—"

"That the Ministry has the right and authority to appoint a new professor," Dumbledore paused significantly. "If and only if the current headmaster is unable to find a replacement, and I have done so on this occasion. Would you like to meet him?"

He stepped aside, gesturing with his arm. We all heard the clopping of hooves before Firenze entered the hall. His white-blonde hair was slightly dirty at the ends and there were deep shadows beneath his crystal blue eyes and on his chest was a bruise in the shape of a hoof, but he smiled happily at Umbridge. She looked like she wanted to vomit.

"This is Firenze, and I believe he will do the job quite to your liking."

The centaur bowed his head respectfully and before I had really made up my mind (other than deciding I wanted to get Umbridge back), I stepped forward and bowed slightly.

"Pleased to make your acquaintance, Professor," I stated calmly. "May the heavens smile upon you."

I had absolutely no idea if that was a proper greeting for centaurs, but it sounded good in my head. I stood back up to see that he was giving me a faint smile before he returned the bow.

"Upon you as well, Kailey Snape," he leaned closer for a moment and, without moving his mouth much, muttered; "Blue suits you quite well."

I managed to hold in a blink of confusion; I had only met Firenze once and I had not given him my name. Aside from that, how in Merlin's name did he know I wanted to turn Umbridge blue? Ignoring it for the moment I stepped aside to see that a few of my classmates had fallen in line behind me, mostly from the DA. Before long, the entire hall was in line and waiting to greet the new professor.

Umbridge watched for a few moments before turning on her heel and marching away angrily. When she was gone, I looked up at Dumbledore. He gave me a very, very small nod before heading off towards his office.

Right then and there I decided that was it; Umbridge would no longer be capable of wearing pink in the not so distant future.

**Well here you are! I hope you all enjoyed it greatly and will come back for 23 when it gets published/written! Shout out to ale-wholikessoupandotherthings for reviewing when I was just about to stop writing the other night (I went to bed an hour later because I wanted to keep going and got more than half of the chapter done; see? Reviewing does work!)! Much love! **

**:-D**


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter Twenty-three: Ministry Interference

**Disclaimed as usual; thanks JKR!**

**For your enjoyment! And happy Easter (or whatever you celebrate)!**

_Kailey's Point of View: _

April had come at last. OWLs were approaching at a stressfully fast pace and yet all I could seem to do was wait in fear of the day when the DA would begin practicing the Patronus spell. I had long since decided it wouldn't matter if I warned Harry or not; cancelling the meeting wouldn't have an effect because Marietta would just squeal when the rescheduled meeting was. It wouldn't be quite so bad if I could think of a way to reset everybody's coins with the exception of hers. But I would be lying if I said the idea of her with SNEAK written across her face wasn't appealing to me.

But then the day came.

"We're going to be practicing the Patronus spell tonight," Harry announced to the group of us. "It's considered one of the most difficult spells to learn so don't expect too much out of yourselves and don't be disappointed if you don't get it right away," he warned.

After teaching them the wand movements and the incantation, he set them loose. I leaned back against a wall, surveying them all and knowing I didn't have it in me to create a happy memory at the moment. Unluckily, Harry noticed.

"Are you alright?" he asked quietly, coming to stand beside me.

"Not really," I answered with a half-hearted smile. "Though I do suppose I could do this and it would make me feel better," I said, turning around and yanking the list of our names off of the wall. I read the letters across the top carefully and sighed. "On second thought, it really will save our hides…" I put it back up.

He gave me a long look.

"She's going to catch us."

"Yeah."

"How will her having the list—?"

"It says '_Dumbledore's_ Army', Harry," I said patiently, looking up at him.

He thought it over for a few moments before I saw it dawn on his face.

"And you think it'll be tonight?"

"Most likely; there's a sneak."

"Which means even if I'd postponed the meeting, they'd still know when the next one would happen," he replied in a dark whisper. "Would you tell me who it is now?"

"Your girlfriend's best friend," I answered without hesitation. I just hoped he didn't catch how I'd laid emphasis on the word 'your'. "Go teach them this, Harry; it's probably the last time you'll be able to anyway."

He gave me another long look and sighed.

"Well, help me teach them, it'll at least get your mind off of things," he said before turning around and walking back towards the others where clouds of silver were puffing up periodically throughout the room.

I rolled my eyes and boosted myself off of the wall, stepping forward to go and help Alianna, whose expression indicated something was going to be smashed if she didn't get a result in the next few incantations.

"I can't _do_ it," she growled as I opened my mouth. "I'm doing the wand movement right and I'm saying the incantation just the way Harry said!"

"Okay," I said slowly, requesting a chair from the room before sitting down. "Show me what you're doing."

"_Expecto_ _Patronum_!" she said fiercely, sweeping her wand in an arc.

"Well, you're right, there's nothing wrong with what you're doing with your wand," I allowed. "What are you thinking about?"

"About…about mum killing the dementor and releasing Aradia's soul," she admitted shyly. "I was so relieved that they were both okay."

"That's your problem," I replied, looking her in the eye. "You were relieved, but I don't think you were happy. You need to think of the happiest memory you can possibly think of or else this won't work."

"But I don't think my happiest memory will work," she answered, shaking her head.

"Why not?" I frowned, cocking my head to the side.

"Because…well, Aradia wasn't actually in it and she makes me so happy whenever I think of her. But so do mum and dad…shouldn't they all be in my happiest memory?"

"If I remember correctly, your dad wasn't there for the memory you're thinking of," I paused, trying to think of how to say it. "Aradia makes you happy, but that doesn't mean she has to be in your best memory. Thinking of Kaleb makes me happy sometimes, but he isn't in my happiest memory."

"What memory would you use for a patronus? Maybe if I hear an example I'll be able to do it," she suggested, giving me a hopeful look with her blue-gray eyes.

I frowned at her and looked away. What memory _would_ I use for a patronus? Then I thought of one. I stood up and took out my wand, letting the chair I had been sitting on sink back down into the floor.

Alianna stepped back from me, watching carefully. A few others who were still trying looked over as well. Perhaps they were hoping to get a different take on it from watching me since Harry was the only other one in the room who could consistently do it so far.

Taking a deep, calming breath, I raised my wand and shut my eyes, focusing.

"_Expecto_ _Patronum_."

I felt the rush of warmth beneath my fingertips and heard people's intake of breath. I opened my eyes and smiled at the sight of the familiar wolf. It stood staring at me for a moment, as though wondering why it was there. Then it bounded forward and leapt up to place its paws on my shoulders, looking me in the eye. The eyes were so familiar to me that it scared me a little bit and the wolf instantly disappeared, leaving my shoulders feeling a little bit cold where there had been contact.

A couple of people expressed their compliments before turning back to what they were doing. This is to say, creating puffs of silvery smoke.

I turned back to Alianna, who had her own eyes closed now. I waited for a moment and she opened them and looked at me, asking me silently if she should already know what I'd used. I nodded at her and she sighed, lifting her own wand.

"_Expecto_ _Patronum_," she intoned, not as forcefully, but as though she was in charge.

A shape burst forth from her wand in the form of something with four legs, but it disappeared into a patch of fog before I had a chance to tell what it was.

"Much better," I praised, smiling at her. "Keep practicing and it'll come to you."

She rolled her eyes.

"Practice, practice, practice; that's all any teacher ever tells you. I want results _now_."

I laughed at her and messed up her hair until she squealed, swatting my hand away and trying to go in for a shove. I dodged her easily before starting to go around the room, helping a few others as I circled.

"Oh!"

I wheeled around to see that Hermione had finally managed to conjure the corporeal patronus. The otter was swimming through the air, circling her happily.

After Hermione's success, everyone else seemed much keener to get it done before the end of the night. Within the next half hour, everyone was at least producing huge puffs of silvery mist. Ginny succeeded in making the next corporeal patronus, a slender horse that galloped around the room. Five more people managed it two minutes after Ginny did.

Harry tried to remind everyone that while this was a huge success it was unlikely that these would work in front of a true dementor since the atmosphere would be highly different.

"Kailey, would you tell me if this is any good?" Luna requested in her airy voice.

"Sure," I walked over to her and watched.

She lifted her wand and froze, her eyes closing as she focused. I stared at her for a solid minute and a half before she said the incantation, sweeping her wand gracefully through the air.

A lively rabbit began hopping around her and she opened her eyes, smiling faintly at it before she looked at me.

"I'd say you've got it," I grinned.

"Yes, but will it work if I truly need it?"

"Well," I weighed the answer in my mind for a moment, "no, probably not, Luna. Concentration is good and all, but in a real situation I don't think you'd have the time to wait like that. Besides, I don't suggest closing your eyes if a dementor is around, not until all your chance of surviving has already gone."

"Why's that?" she tilted her head to the side.

"Because then it seems like what the dementor is showing you is real," I answered simply.

"I see," she replied, turning to watch the rabbit again. "Thank you, Kailey, that is very…"

Her words faded into nothing and I turned to see what she was staring at.

In the middle of the room, Dobby was trembling before Harry. The entire DA was staring at them as Harry tried to calm Dobby down enough to understand him. My insides froze for one brief moment before I stepped forward into the center of the room to join them.

"Dobby, listen to me," I ordered and the elf stopped speaking and stared up at me with his tennis ball eyes. "Answer this question yes or no; will we get in trouble if we stay here?"

He looked so relieved when I didn't ask him anything about Umbridge that when he said "Yes!" I hardly noticed how squeaky his voice was.

"You're not allowed to hurt yourself and if she asks you if you warned us you must lie, Dobby, do you hear me?" I ordered again, telling the shaking in my voice to back off for the moment. "Remember, you're not to hurt yourself. Go back to the kitchens now and stay there."

"Thank you, Ms. Snape!" he cried out before popping out of the room in a quick crack.

There was a heartbeat of silence in the room as everyone stared at me and Harry. I looked up at him and nodded.

"Everybody, go; find somewhere safe," he said without looking away from me.

Nobody moved a muscle, apparently not understanding what was happening.

"What are you all waiting for? GO!" he shouted, gesturing towards the door.

Suddenly, like the flip of a switch, everyone was racing for the door. I looked up at the ceiling, silently asking for a second door. Looking down again, I saw one had shown up on another corner of the room. With a slight start, I realized that Umbridge would not know about the second door.

"Kailey, get Ali out of here," Harry ordered, grabbing me by the shoulder and pushing Alianna and me towards the newly created door. "Get her somewhere safe."

"Come with us," I replied, gesturing towards the new door. "Just come with us, Harry."

"No, I've got to make sure everyone else gets out," he answered, shaking his head

"This isn't the same as the graveyard, Harry, come with us," I said again, as he wrenched the door open and pushed his cousin through it.

Almost everyone had gone, but there was still a group of frightened first years who weren't brave enough to push through the crowd.

"You're right, it's not," he agreed, and he pushed me through the door, slamming it closed behind me.

I swore and turned to face Alianna.

"It'll be alright," I lied, grabbing the shaking twelve-year-old's hand and towing her along behind me. "We'll go to Gryffindor common room," I added, looking around and realizing we were only one staircase away from it. "If anybody asks, I'm helping you with your Potions. Inter-house visits are allowed for stuff like that. The worst we'll get is a night in detention and that's only if she thinks to look for us."

We were in front of the portrait when the sound of pounding feet alerted me to other people. I turned, shoving Alianna behind me (like it would have helped) and facing the threat. It turned out to be the twins, followed closely by Ginny and Lizzie.

"Did Harry—?"

"Don't know yet," Fred interrupted, coming to stand beside us while George gave the password. "Let's get inside first."

The six of us climbed through the portrait to find we were among the first of the Gryffindors to return to the common room. Justin ran over and embraced his sister in a tight hug.

"Lizzie, go get your Potions notes; you and Ali can study together," I said, deciding it made more sense for the two of them to study together. She nodded, slipping out of Justin's grip and heading up the stairs, Alianna following.

As I watched them cross the room, I realized that most of the common room was staring at me. They looked like they wanted orders, so I started giving them.

"Fred, George, why don't you grab some of your less obvious notes and work on those?" I suggested. "Everyone else, grab a buddy and start doing homework or chess or whatever it is you usually do in here."

The stares stopped as people dashed up to their rooms to grab something to do.

"Kailey, you should sit down too," Angelina pointed out, nodding her head towards the couches where my friends and I normally sat.

I sighed and nodded, heading over to sit down. But I couldn't stay still as I watched the door, waiting for Ron or Hermione or even Harry to come bursting in. Every time a straggler came in, I jumped. Finally the door opened and Ron, Hermione and Neville all came in, breathing hard. After a quick mental count, I realized the only one missing now really was Harry.

I stared at them as they approached the couches.

"Well?" I demanded after a moment of them shifting in their seats. "Did any of you see what happened?"

"No," Hermione answered finally. "But he definitely was the last one to leave. And I…" she paused and looked around, like she feared what she was about to say. "I forgot the list."

"I know," I replied, hoping to get some of the tension away from her face. "I left it there."

All three of them looked at me, horrified.

"This isn't going to be good, but I need you to trust me, alright?"

Ron and Hermione traded nervous glances but Neville nodded, not saying anything at all.

* * *

_Keena's Point of View: _

I was just finishing my paperwork in the living room when a bright silvery phoenix materialized in front of the fireplace. I stared at it for a moment, wondering at what Dumbledore could possibly want from me at this hour of the night before the phoenix opened its beak.

"Minerva will explain to you the details, but I wish to inform you that as of this moment I have lost my position as Headmaster of Hogwarts for the time being. Umbridge is taking over. Be warned; while she still does not have the power to dismiss you until the standards have been fully formed, she does have the power to decide whether or not Aradia may continue living at the castle," my heart, which I'm fairly sure had stopped beating within the first part of his message, froze at this fact. But Dumbledore was not finished yet. "Because I have now been labeled a criminal, the Ministry will claim responsibility over Kailey. I will get in touch with Remus and have him provide you with an answer to this situation as soon as possible. Until then, make certain that she remains calm; I doubt this issue has occurred to her yet. Good luck."

And without another word, the phoenix disappeared in a flash of silver smoke.

An overwhelming need to tear something to shreds was suddenly racing through my veins. After closing the door to the nursery, I stalked into my bedroom, shutting the door tightly behind me. Before I turned around, I conjured a huge pillow and transformed into Blacktip. I let a massive growl rip through my body and lunged at the Umbridge-shaped pillow and sank my teeth into it.

I'm not sure how long it took me to de-stuff the pillow, but I know it wasn't long enough for me to get all of my rage out. I pulled a second pillow off of the bed and began destroying it as well. I was so deep into the wolf that when the door opened suddenly, I whipped around and snarled at the intruder.

Instead of asking me anything, Sirius turned to Padfoot and growled right back in a tone that was telling me to behave myself. Still feeling irrational, I bared my teeth and crouched. Before I knew it was happening, we were fighting. As we battled, I began to feel the tension drain out and the painful bites that I was delivering (though not receiving) turned into playful nips instead.

Finally, we ended up in a heap on the floor amidst the shredded fabric and bits of fluff. I whined and he nudged me with his nose, urging me to get up before he transformed.

"Feeling better?" he asked, standing up as I transformed back as well.

"Feeling less raw anger, maybe," I allowed, accepting his hand and brushing some of the fluff off of myself before leaning into him for a tight embrace. "I can't believe he's gone," I mumbled, feeling as though the castle were suddenly vulnerable. Though I suppose that was only the truth.

"He'll be back," Sirius replied, giving me a tight squeeze before holding me at arm's length. "And she's still got the rest of us to contend with."

"What on earth am I going to tell Kailey?" I asked after digesting what he'd said for a moment. "She's a ward of the Ministry now unless her mother's had a sudden change of heart."

"Or unless Severus is forced into taking her back," Sirius muttered when I wouldn't say it. "We both know that Moldy wart would like that very much."

"Yes, he probably would, but I highly doubt Fudge would allow it; he'd have to admit to having been wrong two years ago," I countered. "I just hope Draco's dislike for her will stop Lucius from doing anything."

We shared a long look. Nothing would stop that Death Eater from doing his Master's bidding and we both knew it.

"How did you hear about this?" I asked instead of pressing the issue.

"I was down patrolling the dungeons and Severus ran into me on his way back from his office," he answered, sounding annoyed. "Told me like a right git, he did. 'It seems your godson got himself caught and now the headmaster has taken the blame. I'm sure you'll be glad to know he managed to worm his way out of trouble again.' I wanted to hit him when he was done. Course, I couldn't tell if he meant it or not."

"Knowing Severus, I'm sure he meant at least bits of it," I replied, rolling my eyes. "I'm just glad I was in here when I found out; I don't know what I would have done if she had told me herself."

"When d'you suppose she'll hold the staff meeting?" he asked after a moment's silence.

A knock on our door answered his question. We looked over to see Sparky standing in the doorway, eyeing the bits of pillow curiously before looking up at us.

"Professor McGonagall ma'am is wishing to be speaking with you, Mistress and Master," she said quickly, folding her hands behind her back. "Miss Aradia is being asleep, would Mistress likes for Sparky to be cleaning the bedroom?"

"If you don't mind, thank you," I answered sheepishly, feeling myself turning red.

The house elf bobbed a curtsy and scuttled by us as we walked out of the door. McGonagall was standing in the door way. Her face was pale, either with anger or fear, I wasn't sure which, and her nose was flared.

"The headmistress is holding a staff meeting," she said it so bitterly I was surprised she could get the words out at all. "I assume you've both heard?"

"Yes," I answered, stepping out of the door to stand beside her. "Though not exactly how it all happened."

"It seems that Dumbledore was about to start running an illegal Defense club which would later form his army against the Ministry," she said stiffly. "Though the formation of it took place before there was a decree against illegal clubs, one of the students stepped forward to reveal what was going to take place. It also appears that your nephew was the head student organizer of this army."

"But they did nothing active?" I asked carefully. It seemed I would have to wait quite a while to get the true story. But knowing the official one was more important for the moment.

"No and because of this no detentions are to be served by any of the students who signed their names," she answered, her voice carrying now that we were within earshot of the staff room. "I suspect you will want to have a word with both your nephew and daughter about future illicit activities."

"Of course," Sirius replied smoothly, equaling her new volume. "That sort of behavior is hardly acceptable."

"Certainly," I agreed, thanking Merlin no one could see my expression from the staff room yet. I took a moment and cleared my face before the three of us entered the room.

Umbridge was sitting at the head of the table looking utterly ecstatic. Her smile stretched so wide across her fat face it was hard to tell if there was any space between her lips and her ears. Thankfully, Sirius, McGonagall and I were not the last ones to arrive to the meeting, which meant we had our choice of seating. When the door finally closed behind Firenze, Umbridge stood up and faced us all.

"As of tonight, Albus Dumbledore has been removed from his post as Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry," she stated happily.

I don't know if Dumbledore had managed to get in touch with every single staff member or not, but nobody reacted to the words that she had spoken. Instead, we all stared at her, waiting for more.

"While under normal circumstances the Deputy Headmistress would succeed the former Headmaster, the Minister of Magic has appointed me to the post," she continued, her tone only faltering for one second.

Again, no murmurs of surprise arose.

"Hem, hem," she cleared her throat as though we were making the loudest noise in the world. "This means that I will be maintaining three positions for the remainder of the school year; Headmistress, High Inquisitor and Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor. All former decrees will still stand so please refrain from discussing anything that does not pertain to your classes with the students. The obvious exception of course being Professor Black," she gave me a look which seemed to be daring me to speak up.

When I didn't, she continued.

"Whilst we are on this topic," she simpered. "Professor Black, I should like it very much if you would refrain from bringing your youngest daughter to meals; the Great Hall is no place for infants."

"Yes, Headmistress," I replied, the words tasting like vinegar as they came out of my mouth.

"Also, you should remove that crib from your office; work is not a place for infants either."

"Yes, Headmistress."

"And I should like to see a record of all of your tutoring sessions from now on. I will discuss with the board whether or not access to the counseling sessions would be fair to the students; I would hate to invade."

"Yes, Headmistress," I repeated, proud of myself for keeping my tone polite.

"Auror Black, I would like access to all of your records as well," she added, looking at my husband. "And from everyone I will now require one page of reasoning for every detention served as well as one paragraph for every point taken. I do not want the students being treated unjustly."

The room murmured "Yes, Headmistress," and she smiled widely.

"That is all, you are all dismissed."

No one spoke and the sounds of scraping chairs hurt my ears. We filed slowly out of the room, and it was just by luck that I happened to catch Severus' eye. Without a word, he began to follow Sirius and me towards our quarters. It was just luck that meant he could take this route without being questioned by Umbridge.

"You will keep an eye on her?" he asked, his lips barely moving.

"Always," I answered in kind while Sirius gave one swift nod.

Severus didn't acknowledge our response but headed off towards his dungeons at a brisk pace. Sirius and I exchanged looks before he put his arm around me and I leaned into his embrace.

* * *

_Kailey's Point of View: _

I lost count of how many times people asked Harry what had happened the night before in Dumbledore's office. But I could judge the number fairly accurately based on the look on Harry's face whenever the subject was brought up. Right now I would guess it was around twenty or so.

The four of us were just about to head into the Great Hall for lunch when Filch stopped us.

"The Headmistress would like to see you in her office," he wheezed.

"I didn't do anything," Harry replied automatically.

"Guilty conscious, Potter?" he sneered. "Besides, I wasn't talking to you, she wants Ms. Snape."

"Me?" I repeated, totally dumbfounded.

"Yes, you, let's go," he answered, waving for me to follow him.

I glanced back at the others and shrugged. Hermione looked confused as well before her face suddenly cleared for one moment and she suddenly looked terrified. I frowned at her but she shook her head frantically, grabbing the boys by their arms and dragging them into the Great Hall with her.

"Hurry up, girl," Filch called back and I turned around, following him silently.

I ignored his speech on torturous punishments in favor of trying to figure out what Hermione's problem was. As we approached the office door I decided to give up and just let myself feel ignorant when Umbridge told me why I was being summoned.

Filch knocked twice before opening the door.

"The Snape girl to see you, ma'am," he said, gesturing to me.

"Ah, yes, very good Mr. Filch, thank you," Umbridge beamed. "Come in, Ms. Snape, come in."

I entered the room, trying to tell my legs to unlock themselves as I stared at the wooden plaque that proclaimed her to be the new headmistress. I sat down slowly when she offered and stared at her.

"Would you like anything to drink, dear? Coffee, tea or pumpkin juice perhaps?"

"I'm not terribly thirsty, Headmistress," I replied, hoping she wouldn't make me take any of them.

"Oh, come now, I insist, dear."

"Pumpkin juice would be fine, then, thank you," I answered, accepting the cup that she conjured, trying to remember if there was a way to ruin the effects of Veritaserum.

"Now, dear, we will need to have a bit of a difficult discussion about your guardianship," she said it as though she were stating the weather.

I couldn't find it in me to move.

"Since he is now a fugitive, Albus Dumbledore is no longer considered suitable to maintain that role for obvious reasons," she continued on, apparently not noticing or caring if I drank anything. "Because of this the Ministry of Magic has chosen to find you a new family to live with."

"A-a new family, headmistress?" I asked, hating how I stuttered. I put the cup down, afraid that I would start shaking soon.

"Oh, dear, I know how terrible this is for you," she cooed, leaning forward. "First your mother doesn't want you and next your father is deemed unfit as a parent and now Dumbledore has abandoned you. I understand how angry that must make you to know that none of them ever cared enough about you to keep you."

I didn't say anything, looking away from her and hoping that my emotions wouldn't get the better of me while still in her office.

"And I know that you and Mr. Malfoy have had your problems in the past, but—"

"What does Malfoy have to do with any of this?" I asked sharply, turning back to face her with narrowed eyes before I could think to control myself.

"Why dear, kind Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy have offered to take you into their home with open arms," she replied, her smile widening.

"No," I snapped, jumping out of my seat. "I won't go to them."

"I'm afraid you have no choice, dear."

"I will not belong to a family of Death Eaters," I growled.

"Detention, Ms. Snape," she snapped back, standing up as well, "in my office tonight at eight o'clock sharp. You will meet with them in a few days and you will go with them come the end of the school year. You do not have a choice. Now, I will not tolerate any—"

She stopped short as an echoing boom suddenly rang throughout the castle.

"What on earth…?"

She walked around her desk and opened the door, which allowed the sounds of screaming students and more booms to penetrate the room.

"Back to lunch, Snape, and our detention will be moved to tomorrow night instead!" she called out as she sprinted off to the chaos.

I allowed her a slight head start before sprinting out of the room, heading for Keena's office and praying with all my might that she was there. I arrived to the classroom out of breath and slammed my fist on her door. She called for me to come in and I burst into the room. Luckily, it was only her behind the desk.

"Kailey, what on earth—?" she began, standing up.

I didn't hear her finish the sentence as I rounded the desk and collided with her, needing somebody I trusted to hold me as I burst into tears.

She let me stand there crying for a few minutes, holding me tightly.

"What happened?" she asked finally, holding me out at arm's length.

"The _Malfoys_," I cried out in anger and fear. "They're putting me in with the Malfoys! Why couldn't I _remember_ that would happen? Why do I always _forget_ the most _important_ parts?"

"Sh, it'll be alright," Keena shook her head, brushing some of my hair out of my face. She fished her wand out of her pocket and flicked it at the door before setting up silencing spell while she was at it. "Remus is going to petition to get custody of you, permanent custody if he can manage it."

"How? He's a werewolf, Keena!" I ground out, shoving away from her. "You of all people know that they aren't allowed any real rights!"

"You're forgetting the Aconite Solution, Kailey; as of this coming August he won't _be_ a werewolf anymore. He's only a werewolf for a third of the time that the full moon is up this month. By the time you go home for the year in June he'll only transform for fifth of the night."

"Yes, but by the time August comes around it won't matter, I'll already be with the Malfoys."

"No, Kailey, the laws are changing already. Besides, the Department of Mysteries owe Remus a substantial amount for being a part of the first human test group. Originally he wasn't going to ask for anything but now…"

She trailed off and shrugged, pulling me back into her embrace.

"Try not to let it worry you; I swear we won't let you ever enter Malfoy Manor. You belong with us, not them."

I sighed, letting myself feel some relief at her words.

_Besides, come the end of the year the Ministry will know Dumbledore's not insane and that Malfoy is a Death Eater anyway…_

The thought didn't comfort me as much as it should have.

**There's the end of that one, I hope you enjoyed it immensely and will come back for more when it's available. Next shall be 24! **

**:-D**


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter Twenty-four: Broken Trust

**Here's the next chapter! Enjoy!**

_Keena's Point of View: _

Even though I knew that it was what she wanted me to do, I was sorely tempted to quit my job. Where I had once been allowed to create my own hours, Umbridge now required that I tutor or be available for counseling from eight in the morning through to eight at night to 'better accommodate a larger number of students'. I was now encouraged to eat all meals in my office. I was also now required to keep track of student progress in a 'Ministry approved' log which would not have been quite so tedious if I didn't have to fill out a new one every time I saw a student. I was supposed to do this after my office hours ended, and even though I filled them out between seeing students, I still had to bring most of the logs back to my quarters at night to ensure they'd be filled out by seven o'clock the next morning, which was when she demanded that they be placed on her desk.

Now I realized that I had a job to do while at Hogwarts. But a twelve hour work day followed by at least two more hours of work when I was done? Not to mention the fact that I had a baby, who was now being raised completely by a house-elf.

I sighed loudly before realizing that the door to my office was opening and it seemed that whoever it was had heard me since the door had stopped opening.

"You can come in," I called out, rubbing a hand over my eyes and sitting up. "Oh, hello Harry, how are you today?"

"I'm alright, better than Kailey anyway," he answered with a shrug, closing the door behind him before coming forward to plop down in a chair in front of my desk. "Malfoy was baiting her earlier today. Don't worry; Ron tripped her before she could get her hand out of her pocket," he added at the look on my face. "Besides, she's already got detention tonight."

I rolled my eyes. "Why does that not surprise me?"

"Because you've known her longer than anyone else in the world?"

"It was a rhetorical question, Harry."

"Then why'd you ask?"

I glared at him but he only grinned in reply.

"Do you need anything specific, Harry?" I asked, shaking my head and letting a bit of my own smile show through.

"Not really," he shifted in his seat for a moment. "Except…I have Remedial Potions tonight…"

"And you haven't practiced at all since Dumbledore left, have you?" I suggested, suppressing the urge to sigh. "You know this is something that cannot be rushed, Harry. You must put in the effort to get the result."

"I know," he grumbled, glaring at his lap. "It's just…hard. He's not the nicest of people."

"No, he isn't," I agreed. "But he is good at this, Harry; we wouldn't've asked him otherwise."

"I know, but…" he trailed off and shook his head. "I just can't clear my mind! There's too much going on and Cho is defending her stupid friend and I don't know what to do…"

"Because you still like her or…?"

"I don't think I can be with someone who pretends that her friend is anything but a traitor. I mean, she sold us out!" he shook his head, clenching his fists. "And look at where that's gotten us; Dumbledore gone, you stuck in the office all day, people getting detention with Umbridge left and right which means—" he cut himself off abruptly and I gave him a strange look.

"Which means what, Harry?" I asked slowly, my eyes narrowing as he shifted uncomfortably.

"Just that Gryffindor is in last place, but that didn't really fit in with the rest of my complaints," he answered after a slight hesitation that I would have missed if he hadn't shifted his hands so that the left one was covering the right one.

"Harry, you're lying," I said quietly, folding my hands on top of my desk. "And Kailey asked Severus to stop detentions from being given by all teachers. What does Umbridge make you do?"

"She has us write lines," he replied with an offhanded shrug.

I gave him a long, hard look. I had a feeling of déjà vu wriggling around in the back of my mind, but it wouldn't come out where I could see it. I sighed and shook my head, breaking our brief staring contest.

"You would tell me, wouldn't you?" I murmured before looking back up at him. "If it was something important, I mean."

"Course I would," he replied and either he believed what he said or I didn't have anything to be truly worried about. Somehow I doubted the latter. "I—I have to go. He'll get mad at me if I'm late."

"Alright, Harry," I sighed as he stood up.

He shut the door behind him and I pulled out one of the log journals and began writing about what Neville's latest session had revealed. Of course, I wasn't supposed to mention him, or any student really, by first name, so I found myself siphoning ink off more than I wrote. I finished four logs before something hit me, like a splash of cold water. I froze and set my quill down. Cold usually meant something about Kailey and our connection, but she was in detention with Umbridge right now.

I looked up at my wall, not sure what prompted me to do so, and my eyes settled on a picture of the Marauders just at the end of fifth year. I stood up and walked over to the picture. We were laughing at each other, supposedly at James' expense considering how he was rolling his eyes every few moments. There had always been something odd about this photo. Wormtail, for one thing, hadn't been in it. I wasn't sure if he'd walked out of the frame or if he had taken the picture. For another, there were always moments when all four of us who were in the photo would look at someone or something just beyond the frame. Just as I thought it, the image of my fifteen-year-old self beckoned to someone beyond.

"Who are you looking at?" I said aloud, stepping up so that I was as close to the picture as I could get without blurring my vision.

As I stared, I realized that the last set of OWLs was blurry. That entire summer was blurry. I had always chalked it up to the fact that it had been the summer that Mr. Potter had died, but now that I was consciously trying to remember I was startled to find that I couldn't. Something had happened, something that should not have happened. The déjà vu in the back of my mind wiggled harder for a moment and I shook my head roughly. What was it about fifth year?

The picture version of Sirius and James were talking to each other now, they had a gleam in their eyes. Remus and I exchanged looks, snickering before turning to watch as the other two leapt at the edge of the frame and grabbed hold of an arm. I held my breath as they heaved. Sirius silently shouted something at Remus, who then came forward and helped them pull one more time. I gasped and the déjà vu leapt free as Harry was pulled into the frame, looking exactly the same way as he had in my office just a few minutes earlier.

Suddenly everything from fifth year came tumbling to the forefront of my mind. I stumbled away from the picture, staring open-mouthed. Harry had gone back in time, accidentally, by looking into Snape's pensieve before an Occlumency lesson. The lesson he had just gone to. Memories were swarming my vision.

James and Sirius goading Snape into a fight after the DADA theory OWL…flying over a group of students and colliding with someone who looked like James but had green eyes…Dumbledore telling Harry and I that it would take a few months to send him back to his proper time…pulling our end of the year prank, James and Harry partnering to get Dumbledore for themselves…Wormtail accusing Harry of not being who he said he was…finding Harry in the Owlry after hitting Wormtail…Harry talking about his parents like they were dead…me looking at the back of Harry's hand, imprinted with red words "I must not tell lies"…

"…_And then there's Umbridge! Though, I guess you already know what a pain she is," he subconsciously rubbed the back of his right hand._

_"Let me see," I said, reaching out and taking a hold of his hand. I thought for a moment before it hit me. "That isn't a legal quill. They were banned from detention halls before Dumbledore was headmaster. It was on the O.W.L. in the DADA section," I added when Harry gave me a surprised look._

_"You never mentioned that before," he said, obviously trying to stay within temper._

_"That's because I'm not Hermione nor Remus and I don't remember anything after I've taken the test,"_

I gasped out loud and fell down hard into one of the chairs in front of my desk. I had _known_ about Umbridge's detentions?

_No…not me, Kailey knew, but I didn't actually know…_

Regardless, my face flamed with the heat of shame and anger.

_He literally just told me that he trusted me, that he'd tell me about something like this…! Well no more, I've let Umbridge step on my values all year, but this twig snaps the broom…!_

I stood up abruptly and marched out of my office, slamming the door shut behind me and flicking my wand to leave a note reading 'Closed' in case any students came by. I was practically flying through the corridors, my blood growing closer to boiling point with every step that I took. Two corridors away from Umbridge's office, I was startled to see a wolf Patronus skidding to a halt in front of me.

"_Whatever you're thinking of doing, don't_," Sirius' voice said sternly through the wolf's mouth. "_Come back to your office; Harry, Snape and I are waiting for you_," he finished and the wolf faded away into nothing.

I stood there seething for a moment. Kailey was in detention with Umbridge tonight. What words were being scarred into her hand as I stood here doing nothing? How many other students had been cut and abused right under my nose?

Angry with myself for doing it, I turned around and half-sprinted back to my office. The three of them were standing there, expressions of worry or mild anger upon each of their faces as suited their personalities. Before I really knew what I was doing though, I stalked up to Harry and pulled his right hand into my grasp.

"I must not tell lies," I snapped, releasing his hand and giving him a look, though not all of my anger was directed towards him. "Yet you didn't think we'd like to have known about this sooner?"

"If you do anything now she'll just sack you!" he burst back, flinging his hands into the air. "And you promised you would change things. How did you change anything?" he accused, his expression of worry transforming into a glare.

I was about to answer, but Snape cut me off.

"As interested as I am in this argument, perhaps it would be prudent to continue inside?" he suggested, flicking his wand towards my door.

"Fine," I snapped, wrenching it open and gesturing that Harry should enter first. Sirius and Snape followed, each of them looking at me strangely.

"What did you mean by 'I must not tell lies' Keena?" Sirius asked after he'd finished putting up a silencing spell. "And where did you go? You're office hours don't end until eight, I thought."

"Harry, why don't you explain to us what's been going on in Umbridge's detentions," I replied, though Harry only gave me a half-pleading, half-furious expression. "Now."

"Umbridge makes us write lines," he answered, looking away from all three of us. "When I was in the past—"

"And you'll have to tell me how you did that," Sirius interrupted, looking at Snape for a moment as his mouth curved into a terrible frown and Harry suddenly looked ashamed.

"I—I was curious and I know I shouldn't've done it, but—"

"He decided it would be a good idea to look into my memories, specifically of just after the end of the DADA OWLs; I trust you remember that duel more clearly now that the time loop has completed itself," Snape interrupted and Sirius' face cleared. "Continue, Mr. Potter."

"Anyway, when I was in the past, Keena found out about it and I guess you must've forgotten since you were still closer to being Kailey then, weren't you?"

"Yes, I was. But that has little to do with what she actually makes you do for these detentions. Describe to them how you write these lines."

"She makes us use a spiked, black quill," he answered quietly, glaring at the ground. "One that you don't use ink for."

"A blood quill?" Snape's question seemed more like a statement, but the look on his face warned Harry away from making any affirmative motions. "And neither you nor my daughter saw fit to inform any of us? Do you realize exactly what you have done?"

"Severus," I said quietly, forcing him to look away from Harry. His quiet tones were threatening and frightening and as angry as I was with my godson, he was still _my_ godson. "Harry, go back to Gryffindor Tower."

"What are you going to—?"

"That might have been your business if you had trusted us with this from the start," I replied cutting him off. "Go back to the Tower now."

"Keena, you can't _do_ anything," he argued. "None of you can, why else do you think Kailey and I have kept it to ourselves?"

"You're not the only two students to have served detention with Umbridge," Sirius answered. "Therefore this conflict is beyond either of you and it should have been treated that way. Listen to your aunt and go back to the Tower."

"What do you think she'll do to Ali if neither of you two are here?" Harry tried again, giving us pleading looks.

"Nothing if she knows what's good for her. Now, go." The look I gave him was final and he huffed, shoving his chair back, though he paused at the door.

"This is why I didn't tell you; you're going to do something stupid that'll get you sacked!"

He slammed the door behind him but I didn't flinch.

"Severus, I think it would be best if you stayed out of this directly; Harry's right, she is going to at least attempt to fire us tonight," I said once I was sure my voice's volume was within my control.

"This foul woman has been slicing my daughter's hand open," he replied coldly, his eyes piercing mine.

"All the more reason for you to stay here," I shook my head. "You're more likely to have some influence in any case. More than McGonagall even."

"The quill is illegal to use," Sirius pointed out. "As long as she hasn't gotten special permission from Fudge, I should be able to arrest her."

"And if she has, I'm sure we could get Skeeter to volunteer for another interview," I added, a wicked grin forming on my face.

I stood up and so did the two men in front of me. We all headed towards the door and into the corridor.

"Do you think Alianna will understand?" I asked quietly.

"Once we explain it to her properly, yes, I think she will," Sirius answered.

"Shall we go break Kailey out of detention then?" I sighed.

"Yes, I think we shall," Sirius replied. "It's not as if it's the first time I've done something like that," he added and Snape rolled his eyes.

* * *

_Kailey's Point of View: _

I paused my hand and stretched my neck. I was on my fourth sheet of parchment now. Glancing out the darkened window, I wondered idly whether or not Harry had gotten himself kicked out of Occlumency lessons yet.

I sighed heavily and was just about to start writing again when there was a brisk knock on the door. Startled, I looked up at Umbridge to see she was eying my hand, obviously noting that I had a small trail of blood running down my wrist.

"Just a moment!" she called, conjuring a handkerchief and handing it to me as she walked by, Vanishing both the quill and the parchment in front of me with a flick of her wrist.

I watched silently as she opened the door by just a crack, but it was enough for me to catch a glimpse of the expression of accusatory rage on Keena's face. I frowned, wondering what it could possibly be about before looking down at the handkerchief that I held in my left hand. It felt heavier than it should have and it looked like it was shimmering a bit.

I glanced over my shoulder to make sure no one was coming back in right away and placed it flat on the desk in front of me. I cupped my left hand, painfully aware of the stinging in my right, and leaned closer to the piece of cloth. With less light, the shimmering was obvious. There was a spell on the handkerchief. Chances were it would probably heal my hand if I used it, or at least soak up the blood so that it wouldn't be as noticeable.

I thought back to the expression on Keena's face and how Umbridge had hidden the quill and parchment. I shoved the handkerchief away from me in distaste. If Keena knew about this torture, I wasn't going to help Umbridge hide it away.

Instead of wiping away the excess blood, I watched it dry to my wrist as I waited to hear shouts from the hallway. I could hear their voices, Umbridge's a high pixie whisper, Keena's a strong soprano and Sirius' deep baritone, coming and going in intervals. I wondered some on how they had found out. Had Harry finally gone to them for help? Or had something gone wrong in Occlumency that my dad had discovered it for himself?

Different scenarios began running through my head as to how they could possibly know about the detentions when suddenly the door burst open. I jumped and turned to see Keena had shoved Umbridge aside (the plump witch was massaging her shoulder) and was striding towards me.

Almost before she had lifted her own hand towards me, I held my bleeding one out to Keena. She took a gentle, but firm, grip on it and inspected the lines that cut into my skin.

"This is what you consider 'gently reminding' students of their 'misdeeds'?" she sneered, gesturing to my hand.

"They have done wrong; wrongdoers must be punished," Umbridge simpered.

That was wrong; she should be terrified that she had been caught out.

"This is torture," Keena stated, surprisingly calmly. I looked up at her with a frown to see that the look on her face was similar to whenever she spoke about dementors. "And it's about damn time that it stopped."

"I'm sorry to be the one to point it out, dear," Umbridge drawled, sauntering over to her desk and opening the top drawer. "But I have approval from the Minister to punish the students as I see fit. And I see fit to have my students write these lines. I'm sure I could get approval from Ms. Snape's current guardians as well if you insisted."

"Her guardianship is currently under investigation," Sirius snapped just after I barely concealed a shiver. "And I refuse to allow you to torture any student this way," he stated flatly, taking the few steps to stand between me and Umbridge.

An ugly smile found its way onto the toad's face.

"Oh you do, do you?" she practically purred. "Then I am afraid I have no choice but to dismiss you, _Mr_. Black. In fact, you should each consider yourselves dismissed."

"You can't—" I began.

"Oh, but I can," Umbridge beamed, giving me a nasty look as she cut me off. "You see, Mr. Black has now blatantly reported that he would not longer follow my orders and I am his employer. Obviously that cannot be tolerated. And Mrs. Black," she sent a wide smile towards Keena. "Is disobeying orders simply by being out of her office at the moment. What if some poor, needy student stopped by your office and you weren't there? That is hardly acceptable. Besides, every student has improved enough that they no longer need a tutor in the first place."

Keena inclined her head.

"Being fired because I do my job too well?" she suggested, her tone laced with sarcasm. "Fine. Just remember, Dolores, I have friends in high places as well."

"Is that a threat, _Mrs_. Black?"

"Simply a reminder, _Ms_. Umbridge," Keena shot back, her eyes gleaming with anger.

"I am Headmistress of this school, Mrs. Black, and you shall treat me with as much respect as I deserve!" she said shrilly.

Keena raised an eyebrow at her.

"You want to be treated with the respect you deserve after publically humiliating several of my colleagues and torturing my nephew and Merlin knows how many other students?"

Umbridge turned an interesting shade of magenta.

"Ms. Snape, back to the Tower with you, you're detention is over. Mr. and Mrs. Black, I expect you gone from this castle within the next two hours. Now all of you, out of my sight!"

I scrambled out of my seat, hastily scooping my bag up into my arms, and followed Keena out the door, Sirius bringing up the rear of our group. The door to the office slammed shut behind us.

"Are you both mad?" I demanded, halting once we were a few corridors away. "So I've been losing a little blood every few weeks, it's not worth your jobs!"

"It most certainly is worth our jobs," Keena replied, giving me a stern look. "I am so disappointed in you, Kailey. With you and Harry both."

I inhaled sharply, the words stinging particularly because she was one of the few people I looked to as a mother-figure. I was suddenly reminded of the conversation Snape and I had had months ago when I'd received my first detention with Umbridge.

"Sirius and I both knew what we were getting into back there," she added, gesturing with a dismissive wave of her hand.

"Then what was the point?" I cried, looking at them as though they were insane.

"The point is she admitted to it. How do you think parents will react to hearing about this? The headmistress fires the guidance counselor and school Auror for refusing to allow student torture to take place under their watch?"

"How will you get it…published…" I trailed off, feeling like a fool. "Rita Skeeter."

"Yes," Sirius replied with a nod. "If you lot got her to go along with writing a piece like that, one which was reprinted again the next month, I don't think this story will be a problem."

"Probably not," I agreed, glancing around before taking a step closer to them. "But you do know that we black-mailed her, don't you?"

The two of them blinked at me and exchanged a look.

"That's why she stopped writing in the first place, we told her we'd _rat_ her out if she didn't quit."

I watched the two of them as they processed the word 'rat' in their minds. Sirius got it first, but Keena was a close second.

"And that worked?" Sirius asked casually.

"It was easy as catching a fly on the wall," I replied. "Hopefully the two of you have as much luck. And what did you mean by my guardianship being under investigation?"

"The DM owes Remus; they're rushing the custody process. Which also means you will not be visiting with the Malfoys this weekend," Keena answered, casting a poisonous look back towards Umbridge's office. "You won't have to worry much longer," she glanced at her watch and sighed. "Sparky!"

A soft crack announced the house elf's arrival.

"Yes, Mistress?" the elf asked, frowning as she took in the surroundings before her eyes zeroed in on my hand. "Ms. Snape, you is bleeding!"

Without waiting for any instructions, she took my hand in one of hers and snapped her fingers, conjuring a cloth that had something that looked and smelled like essence of murtlap on it. She began cleaning the cut and looked up at Keena, her eyes suddenly betraying fear.

"No, no, go ahead," Keena said, shaking her head. "I'll just tell you while you fix her up," she added as Sparky's hand faltered. "Sirius and I have been fired and we need to leave the castle within the next two hours. I don't think packing will take that long since I'm going to have a couple of the other elves come to help from home, but if you wouldn't mind being the only one to directly deal with the baby?"

"I is thinking this is being so," Sparky nodded sadly. "I is hearing tales of bowls of the murtlap being left down in the common roomses of the students. I is sad to be hearing it is being true."

She turned her attention back to my hand for a moment as she finished cleaning the cut out. She snapped her fingers once more and my hand was wrapped tightly in a thick bandage that felt as though it held some more murtlap on its insides.

"Is Master and Mistress wishing to be going back to their offices first?"

"Probably a good idea," Sirius mused. "Although wouldn't it be funny if the castle locked itself up whenever we were forced out?"

"But Master, it is not being the castle that is locking Headmistress from the Head's office," Sparky answered, shaking her head hard. "It is being the elveses. They is not liking Headmistress, oh no, they is not."

"How angry d'you think she'd be if she couldn't get into ours either?" Sirius grinned up at Keena, sparing me a wink.

"Oh, please, please do it," I implored, turning my begging eyes to the house elf. "It'd be _wicked_ funny."

* * *

_Keena's Point of View: _

I stepped gracefully out of the floo for the first time I could remember doing so and into the kitchen of Grimmauld place. Perhaps it was the added responsibility of having Aradia in my arms, or maybe it was just because I was so distracted by how angry I was at the whole situation. Either way, my arrival caused the two occupants of the kitchen to look up in surprise.

"What happened?" Bill demanded, being the first to recover.

"Something that will no doubt entice some of the more negative emotions on the human spectrum," I answered vaguely, looking between him and Fleur Delacour with some speculation but letting the subject drop for the moment. "Did anyone take Sirius' and my bedroom?"

"No, it's still open," he answered as the flames turned green behind me. "Both of you at once?"

"I'm afraid so," Sirius answered, brushing some soot off of his cloak before glancing up and spotting Fleur. "Oh, bon jour."

She smiled shyly at him and nodded in reply.

"I 'ope you do not mind eef I am staying 'ere wiz Bill to practice my Eengleesh."

Somehow I doubted that was all that was taking place; it wasn't like they couldn't practice at the Burrow if need be and that was where Molly was.

"As long as it doesn't get back to Molly," he replied, shaking his head. "Listen, Bill, I've got a few more trunks I need to bring through; Sparky and the other elves are back finishing the packing. Would you mind catching them as they come through?"

"No problem," he said, though he frowned. "I thought Hogwarts' fires were being watched?"

"Not in the headmaster's office," I grinned before moving to take Aradia upstairs.

"But I thought it had locked itself?" he insisted after switching a confused look with Fleur.

"Let's just say it's a good thing to have house elves as friends."

**I know it's shorter than usually, but this is as far as the chapter wanted to stretch. That massive quote of italics is from Blind Secrets (yay for recycling!) and before anyone thinks I've left her out, Alianna will be appearing in the next chapter. I hope you enjoyed it and will come back for 25! Until then!**

**:-D**


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter Twenty-five: Prophecies and Promises

**I disclaim all that is recognized as famous.**

**What animal do YOU think Harry would turn into? PLEASE review or PM me about it! I know what I'm thinking, but I'd like to hear other opinions. **

**Love to my readers! And thanks for the review BlueFeatherQuill!**

_Kailey's Point of View: _

Not that I had seen Keena or even Sirius very often during the weeks prior to their being fired, but I still missed their presence in the castle. It had been nice knowing that there had been adults to turn to if I needed help or just wanted to rant about something or someone. Harry was taking their departure very hard. He kept saying that it had all been his fault for going into my dad's pensieve.

"Harry, for the hundredth time, this isn't your fault!" Hermione had finally declared one morning between the common room and the Great Hall. "They're adults and they knew what they were getting themselves into."

The only thing her words had accomplished was getting Harry to shut his mouth for a while. He'd still been grouchy, ignoring the rest of us the entire time at breakfast as well as throughout most of our classes that day.

I had thought he'd get out of his funk if he could just have some sense knocked into him over the Easter holidays. But I had forgotten that Quidditch practice was mandatory and since Harry was still on the team he would have to remain at the castle, as would Ron and the twins. This hadn't been an issue last year since Quidditch had not been on at all.

When the subject had been brought up, Hermione had stated her intention of staying at the castle as well so that she didn't fall out of her study patterns. Not wanting to go home in case the custody issue hadn't resolved itself yet, which I couldn't even write to anyone about for fear that Umbridge would intercept it, I found myself planning to remain at Hogwarts too.

It was two days before the Easter holidays were set to begin when Alianna demanded my attention outside of the Great Hall after dinner.

"Hi Harry," she grabbed me by the arm and gave her cousin a pointed look. "Bye Harry!"

She didn't say anything to me, but tugged on my arm, leading me away from the other three. I cast a confused look behind me but Harry only shrugged in reply. Shaking my head, I turned back to face forward as Alianna led me up a set of stairs. It wasn't until we were outside of the tutoring classroom that I realized where she was leading me to.

"Ali, what is it?" I asked as she finally slowed down to a mere sprint.

She didn't answer right away, but she did open the door and pull me inside before shutting it tightly. She marched over to the door to Keena's closed office and muttered the password that the house elves had let the five of us in on a week ago after things had cooled down some with Umbridge. Once we were finally inside the locked office, she turned to face me, her face a picture of worry.

"I had a dream," she stated.

"Okay…?"

"You know what kind I mean, Kailey," she grumbled, giving me an annoyed look.

"I do, but you'll need to be more specific anyway," I replied, taking a seat in one of the chairs in front of the desk.

"Well it didn't make any sense," she answered, sitting down beside me. "But they almost never do. This one was about dad, though."

"What happened to him?" I asked, trying to keep my expression as blank and receptive as possible. I didn't want to give her any ideas prematurely.

"He…he fell," her lips trembled, but she kept her eyes trained on my face. "He was falling when a woman got in the way. I didn't recognize her."

"A woman got in the way?" I repeated slowly.

"Yes, I was hoping you might know her if I could describe her right," she nodded, fisting her hands in her robes. "She was pale and…delicate looking I suppose. She was familiar, like I have seen her face somewhere but I haven't. At least, not her face more like…like…" she floundered for a moment and I waited patiently. "Like the way I look like dad, but I don't look like him. When we stand beside each other, you can tell I'm his daughter, but when mum is there you can tell it's her that I look like."

I stayed quiet, a frown creeping its way onto my face. I understood what she meant exactly, but I couldn't think of a woman who matched the description.

"She dove in the way?" I checked again.

"Yes."

"And did she…?"

"She fell through an archway, but I didn't understand if that was real or a metaphor."

"Like a veiled archway?"

Alianna's face fell.

"It is real, then?"

"Well, yeah I suppose but I don't know who this woman is…can you describe anything else about her?"

She frowned at me and then looked away. Her eyes became unfocused as she thought to herself for a moment before they glazed over completely. When she spoke, her voice echoed slightly and didn't sound quite like herself.

"They were raised in the same way, though she took one path and he the other, and yet both will find themselves on the same side in that moment and she will remember her old lessons; to be successful is to leave a mark," she drew a breath, but was not finished. "She will see his daughter and her jealousy shall consume her; why does her son not make his mark the way his young daughter already has? And she will see the answer and know the solution and bravery will for the first time enter her heart, courage will lead her mind and death will shroud her in a Veil, for though courage will consume her, it was her selfishness that led her there."

She stopped speaking abruptly and I stared at her, half-shocked and half-impressed. She blinked her eyes slowly three times before shaking her head hard.

"I'm sorry, Kailey, I can't remember what she looks like."

"Ali…do you even know what you just did?"

"Huh?" she looked up at me with her gray-blue eyes and cocked her head to the side.

"You just…you gave a prophecy," I whispered, afraid that saying it any louder would attract more attention to it. Her eyes grew wide. "Don't you remember it at all?"

"No…but mum and dad warned me that that might happen," she answered softly, looking at her hands as though they held the answer. "What did I say?"

I thought it over, not because I didn't remember, but because I wasn't sure if she should be told. She had just predicted a woman's death, not that she hadn't already Seen it, but I had a feeling this made it all the more permanent. Her visions weren't always true, but they weren't often spoken either.

"Just a lot about courage and selfishness and something about a man with a daughter and a woman with a son…" I trailed off and shrugged. "It was a little weird, Ali. But I don't think you need to worry about it."

She looked at me doubtfully before shaking her head.

"If you say so," she said quietly before sniffing. "I wish I could talk to mum and dad, though."

I watched with narrowed eyes as she rubbed the back of her right hand.

"Ali, Umbridge hasn't found any sort of reason to give you a detention, has she?" I asked in my best impression of my dad's no-nonsense tone.

"Not yet, but only because I can See it when she's about to try," she answered truthfully. "Kailey, I'm scared."

"Don't be; being afraid only let's her win," I replied firmly before letting one corner of my mouth turn up in a smile. "Besides, do you really think Harry would let her take you in?"

"That's part of why I've been avoiding it," she said, her voice going up a pitch. "He would get so worked up that he would transform!"

"Transform?" I blinked. "But he hasn't even tried to transform into his animagus yet; he still can't clear his mind enough to do it."

"Well, whenever I See myself in detention, I See him getting mad enough that he just changes shape. Can that even happen?"

"I don't...know," I frowned, thinking about the limited facts that I knew about the potion involved with the transformation. "I suppose since some of the ingredients are affected by body temperature it's possible. But I think that would depend heavily on what kind of animal he was."

"What do you mean by that?" she asked, her Ravenclaw tendencies overshadowing her concerns for the moment.

"I mean when James gets angry, he isn't as likely to transform to work his temper off because his animal is a stag, and they are generally considered gentle and timid creatures," I began slowly, thinking about the irony of Lily being a doe considering how her temper affected her. "But Sirius is a dog, a canine, which means he might prefer it if he could transform to work off his anger. Keena would be even more likely to do that since she's a full predator. I think it would also have to do with when the potion was taken. The ingredients have probably worked their way out of everyone's systems except for your mom and Harry at this point."

"But mum was furious over the summer, remember?"

I chuckled under my breath.

"Which time?"

Alianna rolled her eyes at me.

"That time when Professor Dumbledore came to the house and the next day mum and dad got married? Remember she yelled loud enough to wake us all up?" she insisted.

"Oh, that time," I nodded. "Maybe she has wicked good restraint?" I suggested after a moment of thought. "And let's be honest, Harry doesn't have all that great of restraint."

She smiled at that, shaking her head.

"No, he doesn't," she sobered up after a moment. "But maybe he should."

"Someday, he'll get it figured out," I shrugged. "But do you know what animal he changes into?"

The smile grew back on her face. I was about to open my mouth to ask when she turned on her heel and bolted from the room. Shocked, I didn't move for a full ten seconds before my brain told me to chase after her.

"No fair! You cheated!" I yelled out to her retreating form as she sprinted down the corridor.

Her answering laughter only made me run faster.

* * *

_Keena's Point of View: _

No letters either to or from my daughter since leaving Hogwarts. None from my nephew either. I wasn't surprised, but I was upset. Alianna was coming home for Easter but according to Severus the rest of the kids were staying at Hogwarts. Harry and Ron had Quidditch and Hermione and Kailey claimed that they wanted to study. I sighed; it was probably better that way.

Sirius wasn't around the house much, taking up missions whenever he could. He hated being forced back into his parents' house again. He had asked why we weren't all back at Potter Mansion the second day we had been back, after his mother's portrait's screaming had woken the entire house that morning.

"I dunno mate," James had said. "It's just Dumbledore's orders."

And so we were all inmates.

Well, not all of us. Only Lily and James were explicitly told to remain in the house. Tonks, who had moved in, left for work every morning and Sirius and Remus usually went off on some secret mission or other. Molly had been dropping by to give Lily and James company and she was now more than happy to be able to see Aradia more often as well. Various members of the Order were always dropping by, but few stayed beyond leaving a note or message behind.

Dumbledore only communicated via Fawkes-ing now, since the phoenix's magic was untraceable. He had left a message for me and Sirius the third night after we had arrived, expressing his extreme disappointment with the two of us. I had ripped the letter in two and returned it to Fawkes. The phoenix had trilled a calming note at me before departing.

Here I was now, though, a stay at home mother. In some ways, it was a blessing. Aradia was eight months old now. Whenever she was put onto the floor, whether in the crib or in the kitchen, she would take the chance to crawl as far as she possibly could. She was my main focus most of the time. Even when there was an Order meeting going on, she'd have most of my attention.

"Keena," I jerked as Lily called my name.

"Yes?" I asked, looking away from Aradia who was experimenting with standing up in her crib during a meeting two weeks after our arrival in Grimmauld Place.

"You didn't even hear what I said, did you?" Bill accused from across from me.

"No, I suppose I didn't, sorry," I blushed, sitting up straight. "What was it we were discussing?"

"How in Merlin's beard did you ever become an Auror?" Moody grunted from his seat. "You have absolutely no attention span. Who passed you?"

"Hey, it was before she had a kid, Mad-Eye," Nickie replied, rolling her eyes. "Give me a break."

"Do dark wizards take breaks, Dale?" Moody challenged.

"Here we go," Orion muttered, rolling his eyes.

"No, they most certainly don't! Why did I bother wasting my time drilling your brains if you were just going to forget everything I said the minute I retired!" he growled, shaking his head.

"I'm sorry, Mad-Eye, but this isn't filling me in on what I missed," I interrupted before he could really work himself up.

"We were talking about where we think Voldemort could strike next," James replied. "And Bill was asking you if you could go and help him put up those extra strong wards around a few of the Gringotts owned buildings."

"What extra strong wards?" I asked, looking back at Bill and frowning.

"The ones we developed," Lily prodded. "Remember?"

"The ones that the Ministry never approved?"

"Yes, Keena, the only ones we invented," Remus answered. "What's gotten into you today?"

"I said I was sorry," I rolled my eyes. "Yes, Bill, I can help you with those."

"Brilliant," he smiled. "D'you suppose we could start tomorrow afternoon?"

"Let me check my calendar," I stated dryly. "Of course I can, Bill, it won't be a problem at all."

"Shouldn't you check and see someone can stay with the baby?" Emmeline Vance asked before shaking her head and glancing at Lily and James. "Never mind, forget I asked."

The entire table shifted uncomfortably. James wasn't exactly quiet about his discontent.

"I think we should look into moving Headquarters," Sirius stated abruptly.

"After all the time we spent trying to make this place inhabitable?" Molly demanded.

"Isn't that something we should let Dumbledore decide on?" Dedalus Diggle suggested timidly. "Or at least wait until more of the Order can come to these meetings?"

"Don't you think You-Know-Who's forces have caught onto the fact that we're in London by now?" Sirius pointed out before anyone else could get a word in. "I'm not saying we should stop having meetings here, but I don't think this should be the only Headquarters that we have. Don't you all remember what happened last time?"

"What 'appened last time?" Fleur was now coming to meetings whenever Bill did. We all suspected but no one said anything, fearing Molly's wrath.

"Our Headquarters was attacked last time," James explained quietly, his eyes far away.

I looked away from the others. That first attack on Potter Mansion happened when there hadn't even been a meeting going on. But we had still lost our mother.

"Sirius is right, we shouldn't keep everything in one place," Jeremy agreed from beside Lexi. "I know we have some safe houses, but I don't think that's enough."

"But where else could we go?" a turquoise-haired Tonks asked, frowning. "Potter Mansion has already been attacked again. No one else in the Order has a house as big."

"It doesn't need to be big," Remus disagreed, shaking his head. He hardly had any grey hairs left now. "It just needs to be well protected."

"Bigger would be better though," Emmeline inserted. "That way we could fit as many people as we needed to at a time between here and wherever else we choose. Doesn't McGonagall have a house in Hogsmeade? We could probably check that out."

"I don't think we should be that close to the school," Amanda replied. "Could you imagine what would happen if You-Know-Who tried to attack us there?"

"But we'd be that much closer if he went for Hogwarts," Elphias Doge argued.

"As if they could get into Hogwarts in the first place," Nickie rolled her eyes.

"Sirius, you got into the castle a few years ago, didn't you?" Lexi asked, leaning forward to look at my husband. "I remember reading about it."

"I used a secret passage way," he nodded, lying through his teeth. "But I sealed it last year before everything started happening."

"Lupin, why didn't you seal it all up before he got in?" Moody demanded.

"I told him I had done it," I replied. "What does it matter now? They're sealed. You'd be hard pressed to get into that castle. Especially since that break out."

"Do you have any new leads on any of their whereabouts?" Lily asked, looking around at the current Aurors.

"Not a thing," Kingsley answered sadly. "If we could just start sending out raids again like we did a few years ago…" he trailed off, nodding at Arthur.

"Fudge is saying the raids should never have been done in the first place," he sighed. "Says they were prejudiced against the old families, but who else has any ill intentions towards muggles?"

"If Fudge were a practical, reasonable man, we wouldn't be underground," Damien pointed out while Amanda nodded.

Aradia gave a loud shriek from her crib. A few of the members chuckled and I stood up to get her.

"Well said, kid," Moody grunted before sighing. "I think we should call it a night. Everyone should start thinking of a good back-up location and we'll bring it up to Dumbledore when we next hear from him."

The group agreed to the plan and the meeting ended there.

Bill came back late the next morning, bringing Fleur with him again.

"Are you coming with us, Fleur?" I asked, secretly hoping the answer was negative.

"No, Profess-air, I am seem-ply 'ere to see if I can be of any help wiz ze baby," she answered, looking past me to Lily, who was holding Aradia. "Since ze train will be coming zis afternoon and Bill did not think of it until zis morning," she grinned at Bill who gave me a guilty shrug.

"I didn't know who would be staying behind while someone went to get Alianna," he replied.

"Oh Merlin, she's coming home today, isn't she?" I shook my head.

"D'you want to reschedule?" he asked, frowning.

"No, it's fine. Unless you're going somewhere today?" I asked as Sirius entered the room with Remus, both of them dressed in heavy cloaks.

"You really weren't paying attention last night, were you?" Sirius laughed.

"We're heading to one of the northern werewolf camps," Remus answered. "We've promised a group up there that they can have some Wolfsbane in exchange for neutrality."

"They don't want the Aconite?" Bill asked surprised.

"It's not available to the public yet," Remus shook his head. "They've promised that if we give them three months supply of Wolfsbane that they'll stay neutral and then, once the Aconite is available, they'll get that dose and neutrality won't be an issue anymore."

"So who can go pick Alianna up?" I asked, staying focused on the current problem.

"What am I? Flobberworm guts?" James huffed.

"James, you know what Dumbledore said," Lily said gently.

"We're not convicts, Lily, no one would bother us."

"Is that a risk you're willing to take with your niece?" she asked, raising an eyebrow at him. He didn't reply.

"What if I went to fetch 'er? Would zat be alright?" Fleur interrupted before an awkward silence could ensue. "I would not mind."

"That would be great, Fleur, thank you," I smiled.

"Eet will be my pleasure," she smiled in reply.

With the crisis averted, we parted ways.

Bill took me to several locations that were owned by the goblins. Gringotts was protected beyond anything I could deal with, but apparently the same was not true for the smaller buildings that they had at their disposal. The shops and apartments that they rented out to witches and wizards were not as easily protected by dragons after all.

"So, Bill, what's going on between you and Fleur?" I asked after teaching him the three strongest protection charms that Lily, Remus and I had invented.

"Er," he paused, flourishing his wand for a moment to buy some time. "She's…special. I mean, she moved over here to be with me."

"Oh? So it wasn't to 'eemprove 'er Eenglish'?" I teased.

He turned Weasley red.

"I guess the more important question is, does Molly know yet?" I laughed, sweeping my wand in a wide arc.

"You won't tell her, will you?" he asked, sounding alarmed. "I don't think she much likes Fleur. I want them to have time to grow on one another."

"Bill, do you really think I want to incur that kind of wrath from your mother of all people?" I smirked, shaking my head. "Absolutely not."

He blew out a relieved breath and turned back to face the building.

"I reckon that'll do it," he said with a nod. "And now that I know the spells I'll be able to do them on my own next time."

"Good, glad that I could teach you one more thing."

"How d'you think they're all doing?" he asked quietly, referring to his school-aged siblings.

I sighed.

"We'd better get back to the house before my brother teaches my daughter something that her father forgot about."

* * *

_Kailey's Point of View: _

"Good morning, Kailey," Harry greeted, sinking down in the couch beside me. "And Happy Easter."

"Happy Easter," I replied, yawning hugely.

"Another nightmare?"

"Yes, but not the same as usual, this one had to do with…never mind," I shook my head and looked at him. "What?"

"C'mon, Kailey, you can't just open up like that and then not tell me," he rolled his eyes.

"You're one to talk, Harry," I retorted. "You've been moping around ever since Keena and Sirius left the school. It's not like you went to talk to them very often anymore."

He frowned at me.

"You mean you think that's what's been bothering me?" he said slowly.

But I frowned back at him.

"Uh…yeah? It's not?"

"Well, yeah it did, but that's not all of it…you really don't know?" he looked at me with disbelief.

"I really don't," I shook my head.

"Huh, and here I was just thinking you didn't care about that," he mused, shaking his own head. "Well I s'pose I should let you in on it then. You are no longer the only one who's spent some time in the past."

I blinked at him for a moment. Then for another long moment.

"And how did you manage to do that?" I asked quietly when I thought my vocal chords could handle conversation.

"When I was in your dad's office for remedial potions," he paused and I nodded for him to continue. "He had to leave to get Montague out of that toilet on the fourth floor, you remember?"

"Yeah, the bathrooms on that floor still aren't open," I nodded.

"Right, well, your dad had a pensieve on the desk…" he trailed off and gave me an embarrassed smile.

"Congratulations, Harry, you've done what braver men have failed to do; you've entered into the confines of my father's brain," I rolled my eyes. "What's that got to do with time travel?"

"Well, my dad and your dad were fighting—"

"Shocker."

"—and Keena got hit with something and she kind of landed on me."

"I didn't think that could happen in pensieve…" I frowned at him.

"Neither did I, but since neither of us were in our proper time we kind of…broke time?"

I thought this over for a minute.

"And you're only telling me this _now_?"

"You never asked!"

"I didn't think I'd have to! I thought I was your best friend?" I gave him a look, which he returned with interest. "What's this got to do with why you're so upset?"

He dropped the look and sighed.

"What happened while you were there?" I asked, frowning.

"My grandfather died," he said quietly, his eyes far away.

"Oh," I didn't know what else to say.

"I mean, I knew that he was—is dead, and so is my grandmother but…I was actually with Keena and Sirius and my dad when they found out. Did you know Keena ran away after it happened? She thought it was her fault."

"I know the feeling," I murmured, inching closer to him and wrapping an arm around his torso. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I think so," he answered, leaning closer to me for a moment. "But Keena also promised to not let anything like that ever happen again…except it did. She promised not to let my parents leave and they still left!"

I didn't respond, it's not as though he would have listened. I just sat with him in a half-hug on the couch. Somehow I doubted anything I said was going to convince him at all. He needed to talk to his parents and soon.

It was beginning to look like Fred and George would get their excuse to leave Hogwarts after all. I only hoped that Angelina wouldn't kill me.

By the end of the Easter holidays, I had recruited Fred and George. I had warned them that this may interfere with the completion of schooling and, as a result, being kicked off the Quidditch team.

"Rest assured, Kailey," Fred had said. "That even we believe that there's more to life than Quidditch."

"Not much more, mind," George had added hastily. "But still."

"Thanks, guys," I had grinned. "In exchange I think I can keep the color pink out of the castle for the remainder of the year."

"With that one potion that went wrong?" their eyes had widened, but I had walked away without answering them. No sense in ruining the surprise.

Now, however, I was in the common room with the other three discussing career options.

"Kailey, look at this one," Hermione said excitedly, waving a pamphlet in the air. "St. Mungo's is looking for skilled brewers to help make the potions needed for the hospital."

"I dunno about that, Hermione," I replied, looking away from her and back at the pile she had already handed me. "I don't like hospitals. And what would happen if I made a mistake in one of the potions?"

"I think you'd know before you finished brewing," Ron pointed out.

"Not always," I disagreed shaking my head. "Some potions just don't turn out right. Besides, the hours are probably horrible."

"What makes you say that?" Harry asked, glancing up from the pamphlet he was reading about broomstick making.

"Most potions require hours to set and if you're even a few seconds late in getting back to it, it can go bad," I answered with a shrug. "The larger the dose, the more time it takes. Making potions for St. Mungo's probably means large doses."

"So you'd be getting up in the middle of the night to go to work?" Ron asked, frowning. I nodded. "Keep that leaflet away from me."

Harry snickered and Hermione rolled her eyes, dropping the pamphlet into the (large) pile of rejects.

"C'mon, Hermione, this is Ron who was talking," I grinned.

She looked thoughtful at the idea and Ron rolled his eyes this time.

"Hey, Harry," George came up behind us.

"We heard you needed some help?" Fred finished, coming around to sit on Harry's other side.

* * *

_Keena's Point of View: _

It was that awkward time in the afternoon. Everyone had finished lunch and now we were waiting for dinner. Remus was sitting at the kitchen table, scanning the articles in the _Daily_ _Prophet_ for news about werewolves, occasionally looking up to make a crack with James and Sirius as they tried to outdo one another with old stories. Lily and I were listening in, offering corrections whenever we thought necessary. Aradia was napping in her crib.

"We did the platypus prank during Amanda's career advice meeting," Sirius was saying.

"No, we served detention during Amanda's meeting," Remus corrected without looking up. "The platypus prank was during Nickie's turn."

"I thought the squid prank was during Nickie's turn?" James asked, confused.

"You lot pulled that one during _my_ meeting," Lily interrupted before Sirius or Remus could speak up. "But I thought the nose prank was during Nickie's meeting?"

"That was Wormtail's that we did that one for," I replied, shaking my head.

"What did we do during Amanda's?" Sirius asked, frowning and rubbing his neck.

Before anyone could answer, there was a cough from the fireplace.

"Harry!" Lily cried out in surprise. "What are you doing? How are you?"

"Er…well I s'pose Sirius and Keena have told you about what happened?" he suggested mildly, his head balancing in the green flames. "I just thought I could maybe…ask you about some of it? It's been bothering me."

"Of course Harry," James answered immediately, going forward and sitting by the fireplace. "You can always talk to us."

My nephew bit his lip uncertainly for a moment.

"Is it about your grandfather?" Lily asked gently.

"No," he shook his head. "Well, not really, not this time. It was more something about what Keena had…promised."

"I promised that I would do all within my power to save them," I answered, frowning for a moment. Then my mind cleared.

"You want to know why nothing changed," Remus finished with certainty.

Harry nodded shyly.

"Why was do I still remember growing up with the Dursleys and everything else that's happened? Shouldn't it be different?"

The others all looked at one another before their eyes landed on me. I was the only one who had known when changes had occurred.

"Harry, things did change. If you ask Kailey, she'll tell you," I answered. He looked confused so I continued. "In your first year, Remus and I came to your matches and after you fought Quirrell. But when Kailey first went through Hogwarts, I didn't exist yet. Not fully, anyway. If she remembers me from before third year, I'd be very surprised."

"So she wouldn't remember that you tutored during second year?" he suggested.

"Exactly. She might remember seeing me around the school, but…did you ever ask her about me?"

"Yeah, I did, I asked why you didn't take me in and if…if you were dangerous at all," he admitted.

"Had she even known that you had a godmother?" I asked gently.

"No…no she hadn't," he sighed. "So you kept your promise."

"Not the way you meant, but yes."

He sighed, sounding disappointed, but he froze suddenly when he opened his mouth to continue.

"Is someone coming down the stairs?"

"No one else is here," I replied, confused.

"Except Kreacher," Sirius grumbled.

"It must be somebody on your end," Remus answered over Sirius' complaining.

"I'd better go," he went to pull his head out and paused. "Tell Mrs. Weasley I'm sorry," and he was gone.

The five of us looked at one another.

"I don't much like the sound of that," James voiced at last.

"All in favor of _not_ passing that apology along?" Remus suggested, looking around the room.

All of our hands went up without hesitation.

**Phew, finally got that one finished! If you're curious about those pranks they were discussing, you can find them in the story Career Advice. If not, I'll see you next chapter!**

**:-D**


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter Twenty-six: Problems, Big and Bigger

**I disclaim anything recognized as famous.**

**Thank you for the reviews! Enjoy! **

_Kailey's Point of View: _

"You two are about to learn what happens to trouble-makers in my school!"

Fred and George each raised an eyebrow at the stubby witch before them before turning to one another.

"I dunno how I feel about that, how about you George?" Fred asked lightly.

"I think the old bat's gone a bit loopy if she thinks we're sticking around," George nodded importantly.

"Yeah, I reckon we've outgrown the castle."

"Think we should test our skills out in the real world?"

They grinned at one another and summoned their brooms loudly. Umbridge, meanwhile, was slowly turning purple. Rather, her _clothes_ were turning purple.

"Just where do you two think you can go? You have not finished the school year!" she shrieked.

"That's the beauty of being seventeen," Fred stated sarcastically.

"And we happen to be willing and able to employ ourselves," George added.

Their brooms came sailing into view then and they caught them with instinctual skill.

"Sorry, Angelina," George called once the two were in the air.

"But men have to have priorities," Fred finished with a shrug.

The crowd of students laughed loudly and Umbridge's face reddened.

"And if any of you have priorities, then come on down to number ninety-three Diagon Alley to Weasleys' Wizarding Wheezes!" George crowed.

"Where you can purchase our Portable Swamp!" Fred continued. "Special discounts to any Hogwarts student who swears to use our products to get rid of the toad!"

"Stop them! STOP THEM!" Umbridge cried, not even noticing that her entire outfit was now obnoxious neon blue.

The Inquisitorial Squad sent spells whizzing into the air, but the twins were too adept at maneuvering around bludgers to be caught by inept Slytherin bullies. They soared away through the doors, pausing only to yell out "Give her hell from us Peeves!" before sailing away from the grounds.

Hermione, who was between me and Ron, groaned quietly in the back of her throat.

"What?" I asked, laughing and applauding with the rest of the student body.

"Mrs. Weasley is going to be _furious_."

Ron stopped clapping abruptly and looked down at Hermione.

"Why'd you have to go and say that?"

I laughed harder at the look on Ron's face.

"What's wrong with Ron?"

I jumped and turned to see Harry standing right beside me.

"Hermione's just reminded him how angry Mrs. Weasley is going to be about this," I shrugged. "She'll get over it."

"I reckon she'll be alright with it once she realizes that Filch was going to whip them," Harry replied darkly. "Look over there, he's holding it now."

We all looked over and Hermione gave a little gasp.

"That's barbaric!" she hissed before she frowned. "What's happened to Umbridge's clothes?"

She asked the second question just loud enough that several other students took notice as well. The loud applause slowly gave way to sniggering. Umbridge didn't take notice until the sniggers infiltrated her Inquisitorial Squad members.

"What is so funny?" she demanded, wheeling around to face Filch, whose face had gone slack as he realized what was different about her.

"Ma'am, were you wearing blue all day?" he asked, looking her up and down.

"Blue? Of course not! I never wear blue, I only wear pi—" she stopped halfway through the word as she looked down at her sleeve.

Her shriek of rage was so loud that the hour glasses keeping track of the house points shook.

"Bit of an overreaction, don't you think?" Ron sniggered as the students scattered.

"I can't believe they actually left," Hermione shook her head as we headed towards the common room. "I never thought that they really would do it."

"I did," I argued with a smirk. "Even without knowing what I know; once they're set on something they get it."

"Yes but…" Hermione trailed off. "I just never thought that they would decide that school wasn't important. What if the joke shop goes under? They'll have nothing to fall back on."

"The joke shop won't go under," Ron shook his head vigorously. "It's like Kailey said; they're set on it."

"Besides, we could all use a laugh every now and then," Harry added.

Hermione humphed quietly but said nothing more.

"How did it go, Harry?" Ron asked once we were safely in our corner of the common room. "Did you get it all sorted out?"

"Yeah, as much as I could that quickly at least," Harry nodded.

"Did they explain why nothing changed?" I asked, tilting my head to the side.

"Actually, Keena said that things did change," Harry countered, causing all three of us to frown back at him.

"Huh?" Ron spoke for us all.

"Look, first year do you remember seeing Keena here during the first week of school?"

I frowned at him.

"No…"

The other two looked at me with concern.

"You don't?" Hermione cocked her head to the side. "That's odd. I even spoke to her; she's the one who showed me the Book of Hogwarts Alumni."

"What about second year, do you remember her from then?" Harry pressed.

Ron and Hermione nodded but I only grew more confused.

"Not really," I felt like I was going insane. "Why can't I remember that?"

"She said it was because the time loop hadn't completed itself until I went back," he explained. "But since you and she were still connected, sort of, you would have more trouble remembering her being there. I think I can count on one hand the number of times the two of you spoke during our first two years," he added thoughtfully.

"I don't think I like that," I mumbled, shaking my head. "It's weird."

"I hate to be the bearer of bad news, Kailey, but you've always been weird," Ron grinned, making Harry snort and Hermione roll her eyes.

I deigned to reply.

"Kailey!" Hermione gasped suddenly, making all three of us jump.

"What?" I blinked, pressing a hand over my chest.

"You've got your career advice meeting in two minutes!"

"I do not, I have it on Monday."

"Kailey, it is Monday," Harry pointed out.

"Aw crap," I groaned, standing up and stretching. "D'you think McGonagall is used to people being late?"

"Probably," the boys chorused.

I made it to McGonagall's office in record time. Luckily, the halls were mostly empty since classes were over for the day already. I had a feeling that Fred and George's grand exit had a hand in that as well.

Grinning to myself, I knocked on the door and waited a brief moment before going inside.

"Afternoon, Professor," I said happily, glancing around to see that Umbridge was not present. Good.

"Good afternoon Ms. Snape," she said sounding happier than she had in months. "How are you today?"

"I'm good, how are you?"

"Blooming," she replied. "Now, we are here today to—"

"Professor?" I interrupted politely. She gave me a strange look. "Not that I want to be rude, but we both know what you're about to say. Wouldn't it be more efficient if I just told you I want to experiment with Potions? Maybe even teach it when my dad retires?"

She shook her head.

"I suppose you're right. And you do have the grades necessary for that sort of work. Where would you want to experiment?" she asked, shuffling through some parchments that lay scattered across her desk.

"Maybe the Department of Mysteries?" I suggested timidly. "Do you think that's a possibility?"

She pursed her lips as she stared at me through her spectacles.

"I think you stand a fair chance of getting into that department. It's much simpler to do when you have connections with them, which you do. You'll need to maintain or even increase your grades from now on, though, Ms. Snape."

"I know, but I think I can handle it," I nodded. "Is there anything I should focus on improving for now?"

She looked over my grades for a few moments and I held my breath.

"The only area you seem to be having trouble in is Herbology," she admitted. "You'll need that NEWT if you want to do anything with Potions. You should pass the OWL with an A, but be sure to bring it up."

I nodded at her and smiled, reaching for my bag.

"Is that everything?"

"It is," she nodded. "Now, I need to know," she leaned forward, flicking her wand quickly and creating a silencing spell around us. "How did you turn her blue?"

"Time-delayed potion," I grinned. "I infused the spell that Fred and George used on the French boy last year with it so anything she puts on will, eventually, turn blue."

"And you have an antidote?"

"None that have worked," I said, pulling my hair over my shoulder and pointing at the blue streak that ran through it. Her face grew stern. "I'm not drinking it! Just dipping the end of my hair into it. Besides, none of the ingredients I use have any poisonous qualities whatsoever."

"Alright then, as long as you're taking the appropriate precautions," she nodded. "This conversation never happened," she added.

"Yes Professor," I grinned.

* * *

_Keena's Point of View: _

The flames in the fireplace turned green a second time that afternoon and Fleur stepped gracefully into the kitchen of Grimmauld Place.

"Hello everyone," she greeted with a smile. "I 'ope I am not interrupting?"

"Of course not," James shook his head. "We're just telling stories."

"Good, Bill will be 'ere shortly," she nodded, her posture deflating in what seemed to be relief.

"Why? What happened?" Sirius asked.

But before she could answer, the flames turned green once more and Bill stepped out of the fireplace. His ears were bright red.

"Well, Fred and George finally did it," he stated, coming round to sit on Remus' other side. "They've quit school. On the worst bloody day possible."

"They quit?" Lily asked.

Sirius turned to James.

"Pay up," he demanded, holding out a hand.

"Why is it the worst day possible?" I asked, not the least bit surprised about the twins. We had all known Harry's apology only meant one thing. James thought they'd been expelled, and Sirius had been adamant that they'd quit.

Bill blushed slightly and took Fleur's hand in his as she sat down beside him.

"Oh, so you've told your mother."

"Does that mean we're allowed to talk about the two of you officially now?" Lily asked, a wicked grin forming on her face.

"Ha! You pay up!" James cried, punching the air in triumph.

He'd betted that Bill would admit to going out with Fleur before Remus admitted to his relationship with Tonks. Sirius had thought the opposite. Honestly, the men I lived with…

"Grow up," Lily said, shoving James in the shoulder. "So Molly didn't take the news well?"

"I think she might've taken it better if she hadn't gotten a letter from the school in the middle of our conversation," he said, shaking his head. "She thinks we're being too rash."

"Too rash by dating?" I asked, smirking and raising an eyebrow.

Bill's blush deepened.

"Er no…" he looked at Fleur and she gave him an encouraging smile. "By getting engaged."

A moment of awkward silence ensued.

"Congratulations," Remus finally spoke up, snapping the rest of us from our trance.

Sirius and James followed in their friend's lead and Lily and I looked at one another for a moment before leaning closer to Fleur.

"May we see the ring?" Lily asked, smiling gently.

Fleur grinned and lifted her left hand to us.

It was a simple ring with a small diamond and a plain silver band studded by two rubies. Nothing like what I would have imagined on the finger of a Veela.

"It is most beautiful, no?" she smiled, her eyes shining. "I do not know 'ow he knew just what to get."

Perhaps it was too early for me to judge her.

* * *

_Kailey's Point of View:_

The weeks following the twins' departure were full of pranked hallways and skipped classes. Well, I didn't skip, Hermione wouldn't let me. I didn't tell her I could have easily made myself some Fever Fudge down in the kitchens with Dobby's help. What she didn't know wouldn't hurt her.

At one point, she gave half of the third years detention to try and stem the flow of illnesses that passed through her doors. That one had failed miserably because the next day the remaining third years and all of the second and first years had managed to get their hands on Weasley products and she had been forced to let them all go to the Hospital Wing. I was thankful she opted to not punish the second years, since it meant Alianna would avoid detention again.

Harry was keeping a low profile these days as well. None of us bothered with Weasley products in our DADA class. Hermione was part of the reason. The other part was that Harry and Ron didn't want to risk getting booted from the Quidditch team. I was content to doodle during my time in that classroom anyway.

There was one memorable afternoon where Peeves came swooping into our classroom and dropped fifty dungbombs down on Umbridge's desk about five minutes into the lesson. He came in screaming "SHIELDS UP!"

With barely a hesitation, I knocked Harry's wand out of his hand and raised my own. I would be damned if Umbridge found an excuse to kick Harry off the Quidditch team this late in the year.

My shout of "_Protego_!" had mixed with a few others in the class who had been DA.

The dungbombs failed to go off immediately and Umbridge apparently thought this meant that they were all duds.

"THERE IS TO BE NO MAGIC IN MY CLASS-!"

"BOMBS AWAY!" Peeves shrieked over Umbridge's cry.

And he zoomed back onto the safe side of the shield just as the explosion of noxious green gas went off. Umbridge's shouting turned quickly to a scream of rage followed by a gagging cough.

She dismissed class without handing out a single detention.

"What did you knock my wand down for?" Harry grumbled as we ascended the stairs to the tower. "I haven't had a chance to practice a decent shield in ages."

"Believe it or not, Harry, I would like it very much if you remained on the Quidditch team," I answered, shaking my head. Ron snorted but Hermione narrowed her eyes.

"Is he supposed to still be on the team?"

"Nope," I shook my head.

"Why not?" Ron asked incredulously.

I sighed and glanced around. There weren't any Slytherins to speak of nearby so I assumed I was safe.

"You remember that first match? Malfoy was going to run his mouth off at the twins and Harry," I murmured. "All three of you were supposed to get kicked off for beating him up."

"What, you mean like a muggle duel?" Ron laughed.

"Yeah, a fist fight."

"Oh, Harry, please tell me you wouldn't have," Hermione groaned but Harry shot her with an eye roll.

"I guess we'll never know, now, will we?" he replied.

* * *

_Keena's Point of View: _

It was nearing the end of May now. The news from Hogwarts was rare and almost never good. We heard rumors from the twins occasionally when they would drop by unexpectedly for dinner. The twins had accounted for Umbridge's mail screening process long before Dumbledore had even left. They had managed to develop a nonsense code that made it possible for students to continue to order their items through Lee Jordan. He would slip off to Hogsmeade through one of the secret passages and give the latest order forms to Rosmerta. In return, she would give him the new products. Sometimes, Lee would send them a letter of his own just to let them know how everything was going.

"Why haven't we heard from Harry or Kailey at all, then?" Lily had asked one night.

"We didn't want Hermione knowing," George shrugged.

"Even though Umbridge deserves it, she'd let being a prefect come first," Fred finished.

"Besides, Lee knows that we'll contact him with any important information."

"And he'd tell us if something big were going on with any of those four or Ginny."

As annoyed as I was that I hadn't known, it made sense for them to keep it close to their chests. The less people who knew, the better. They had made it clear that there was a wide chain of people, with a few representatives in each of the three 'respectable' houses, but no one knew exactly how Lee managed to get everything so quickly.

One Saturday, that could very well have been the day of the match Gryffindor was supposed to play against Ravenclaw, Sirius, Remus and James decided that they wanted to go and visit the shop. I wanted to go as well, but Lily wasn't sure if it was a good idea.

"Dumbledore told us not to leave," she insisted, rubbing the back of her neck. "I don't know if this is a good plan."

"Lily, Voldemort is still in hiding, do you really think he'd blow his cover just to come after us?" James asked, annoyed with his wife.

"I don't know, James, isn't it just better to be safe?"

"We've been safe for the past fifteen years," he stated, throwing his cloak over his shoulders. "One day out isn't going to kill us."

"Not us, maybe," she replied quietly. "Don't you think us visiting the twins make them into targets?"

"They're Weasleys, Lily, they've been targets since they were born," James rolled his eyes.

"James, this isn't funny," Lily insisted, her voice rising. "I know you're tired of being here, I am too, but we have to think about what Dumbledore said; when has he ever been wrong?"

"I'm not saying I don't trust him, Lily, I'm saying I don't think he's right this time."

"Well, I'm not going."

I paused in the act of wrestling a shoe onto Aradia's wiggling foot to look up at my brother. He had his eyes closed and his mouth was shut in a tense line. I glanced at Lily to see that she was staring at him with an expression of pity. She knew it was killing my brother to stay inside constantly, but she had never been one to disobey orders.

"What about a compromise?" Remus suggested before the silence could grow too tense.

The two looked at him curiously and he shrugged.

"What kind of compromise?" Lily asked slowly.

"I know you were looking forward to walking around Diagon Alley, Prongs," he offered cautiously. "But what if you and Lily just met us at the shop? Then when we're ready to leave, you'd just come straight back here. You'd be able to go out but less people would know where you'd been."

Lily frowned for a moment then sighed.

"Alright, I suppose it wouldn't hurt," she said and James' face lit up. "But just this once."

"They said the shop was next door to the Apothecary, if you apparate just outside of there you should be able to get inside before you're seen by too many people," I added, finally getting Aradia's second shoe on.

The rest of us flooed to the Leaky Cauldron, Sirius going first, me and Aradia in the middle and Remus coming through last. I looked around the pub cautiously, feeling a sense of foreboding. The crowd was noisy and it was just another weekend to these people. Sirius wrapped an arm around my shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze and I sighed.

The street was crowded with people busy doing their shopping. Mostly it was mothers with young children who weren't old enough for Hogwarts running about and getting errands done. There were some women gossiping in front of Flourish and Blots about Dumbledore by the sound of it. One of them, I noticed as we got closer to the group, was Augusta Longbottom.

She looked up just in time to catch my eye and said loudly to her friends, "Well, here is someone with a great deal more authority on the subject of Hogwarts and its doings!"

The gaggle of women spread out slightly as they turned to see who she was talking about and she came forward, offering a hand for me to shake.

"Professor Black," she greeted, leading me back into her circle of friends. "My friend Mrs. Finnigan was just telling us her opinion about why you and your husband were fired. I've been trying to tell them that you can't possibly have been fired, you've worked wonders as the students' tutor!"

I glanced at Mrs. Finnigan, noticing that Seamus had her nose and ears before I turned back to Mrs. Longbottom.

"Oh, no, Umbridge fired me," I replied lightly. "But it wasn't because I was inadequate or anything. I disagreed with her methods of punishing the students."

"Discipline is discipline, Professor," Mrs. Finnigan growled. "And it seems to be something that you failed to teach your nephew according to the stories my son tells."

"I'm sorry you feel that way," I stated tightly, feeling the eyes of all of these women on my face at once. "But I do not condone torturous methods as a means of detention so you'll pardon me for disagreeing with you in this instance."

"Torturous methods?" Mrs. Longbottom cried, the other women echoing her. Mrs. Finnigan's face lost its color. "Whatever do you mean, dear?"

"Umbridge has been using a Blood Quill in her detentions all year long. By fear and intimidation, she's managed to keep the students quiet about it but Sirius and I found out the night that she fired us. I don't know how many students have been forced into this but I didn't have a chance to tell Professor McGonagall before I left," I shook my head and sighed. "The Ministry has approved this method, as far as I know. I haven't even heard from my daughter since she was home for Easter; the mail is being screened."

"Why have you not told anyone?" one woman, who resembled Lavender Brown, demanded.

"Like who, ma'am? The Ministry?"

"The best hope we have is if the parents hear about it," Sirius put in, his arm resuming its position around my shoulders. "And if they demand action is taken against this. Otherwise nothing will be done."

"Well, luckily for you, you've just said all of this in front of Patricia Brown," one of the other women said sagely. "The story will be in every gossip mill by Monday."

Mrs. Brown rolled her eyes but did not deny the statement.

"Yes, well, I wish we could stay to chat some more but we have friends that we're meeting," I said in response to Sirius giving my shoulder a quick squeeze.

I waited until I was sure we were out of their hearing range before sighing in relief. Sirius and Remus laughed at me.

"I hate socializing with other parents," I groaned, shaking my head. "Or with parents in general; it's so awkward."

"It's not that bad," Remus argued, rolling his eyes. "It's just because you were talking about a subject that you don't like with a woman who clearly doesn't believe the truth about Voldemort."

"Mrs. Finnigan or Mrs. Brown?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Both," Sirius replied before Remus could.

We made it to the shop without any more side trips, for which I was decidedly grateful. Remus held the door for me and the baby, leaving me free to look around as I entered. There were a lot of cardboard boxes in place of actual bins at the moment, though there were shelves. The place smelled strongly of paint, but two of the walls were still just white.

A little bell had rung above my head and one of the twins bounded into the room.

"Welcome to Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes!" he crowed. "Come for a tour?"

"And to shop," Sirius grinned, though I gave him a look. "What? Can't I get my godson and daughter gifts while I'm away?"

"You might want to run that by Lily, she wasn't too thrilled when James tried," the twin said sagely. "They're in the back with Fred having a look in the lab," he added, jerking his thumb over his shoulder.

"Maybe I should just make my purchases now before she knows I'm here," Sirius winked and I shook my head. "What? You pranked just as badly as the rest of us!"

"I know and it makes me question my sanity on a daily basis."

* * *

_Kailey's Point of View: _

"Kailey, I don't know about this," Hermione murmured.

We were following Hagrid towards the Forbidden Forest where he had 'something' that he wanted to show us. The match had hardly started when we left and I was disappointed to be missing it. But Hagrid needed us, regardless of whether or not I agreed with his decision.

"It'll be alright," I answered quietly. "It's not as bad as you think."

"What are you two mutterin' abou' back there?" Hagrid asked, looking back and grinning at us.

"Boys," I grinned promptly.

Hermione rolled her eyes at me but Hagrid chuckled.

"I reckon the two o' yeh don' get ter talk abou' tha' stuff round Harry an' Ron, eh?"

"The subject only ever really comes up if Harry isn't around," Hermione replied, giving me a look as she smiled. I stuck my tongue out at her.

"Yeah? Tha' don't surprise me none," he laughed before he quieted himself, looking around the forest. "Got ter be quiet in here now, girls." He adjusted the arrow in his crossbow.

"Kailey, your idea of bad and my idea of bad are very different," Hermione muttered as she eyed the arrow apprehensively.

"This is true," I shrugged, though I didn't offer her anything else.

We walked through the forest in silence with Hermione shooting me looks every few minutes. When we stepped off the path, I turned back to see that she had stopped walking. I glanced over my shoulder to see that Hagrid hadn't stopped to wait for us.

"C'mon, 'Mione, it'll be fine," I encouraged quietly. "It'd be worse if we lost Hagrid."

She sighed to herself but came forward and continued following us nonetheless.

"Hagrid?" I called as his great form was beginning to blend more and more with the dark surroundings. "Could we light our wands?"

"Er…yeah, alrigh'," he answered, pausing from what I could see.

I wrestled my wand from my pocket, acquiring more cuts and scrapes from the surrounding branches as I did so. Hermione held her lit wand closer to me so that I could see what I was doing and I nodded my thanks to her as I finally pulled my own wand out and lit it.

"As a matter o' fact, I should probably fill yeh in," Hagrid said, almost to himself. "We all know I'll be gettin' the sack any day now an'—"

"Hagrid, don't talk like that," Hermione interrupted. "School is almost out for the year and—"

"Then let me finish for me own sake?" he requested and she subsided. "I—er I just need a bit o' a favor is all."

"Hagrid…" I trailed off as I saw the look on his face. "We can try but…"

"So yeh already know then, do yeh?" he suggested sadly. "I was afraid o' tha'."

"I'm not saying we won't do our best, Hagrid," I said hurriedly. "But you understand the problem, don't you? She's approximately five feet tall, wearing blue a lot all of a sudden," I smiled when he chuckled.

"Well, I'll still show yeh what we've come out here for, eh?"

He turned back away from us and we followed him a bit farther into the forest. When he halted, I nearly walked into him and Hermione managed to reach out to steady me just in time. Hagrid didn't seem to notice, but he did turn back to face us, lifting one of his great fingers to his lips.

"Be real easy, now," he whispered, beckoning us forward slowly.

I crept along at an angle so that I could see the giant mound that was Grawp past Hagrid's comparably small bulk. A great, rumbling snore echoed in the silence of the trees and Hagrid sighed in relief as he realized his baby brother was sleeping. I glanced around to see that he had made himself a clearing, littered with uprooted trunks and broken branches. I shuddered to think of what he would be like if he was angry.

"Who is that?" Hermione breathed and I looked around at her to see that she was white enough that I could make her face out in the dimly lit forest.

Hopefully she wouldn't end up being too angry once she got over the shock.

* * *

_Keena's Point of View: _

A few days after our visit to the twins' shop, we received word from Dumbledore. Sort of. It wasn't the usual message from Fawkes, but from Tonks. She came back from work later than usual and her face was drawn and worried as she came in through the front door. I suppose that should have been my first warning; normally she apparated straight into the house after work.

"Had a bad day in the office?" Lily asked from the stove where she was making dinner.

Remus was still out doing Order work and James and Sirius were upstairs in the drawing room discussing something about pranks that they didn't want Lily to overhear.

"Not exactly," she mumbled, sitting down slowly. "Kingsley heard from Dumbledore and he wanted me to pass it along."

"What's happened? Was it at the school?" I asked, sitting up straight in alarm.

"It's not at the school, no," she shook her head. "Not even on this continent."

"What's not on this continent?" Remus shut the door behind him and came to sit down at the table.

"It's Kailey's brother," she said, looking disturbed. "He's run away from home."

"Run away? Why?" I asked feeling totally bewildered.

"The note he left behind said he was tired of his mother talking about his sister. It said he'd left to find Kailey…" she trailed off. "I guess her mum got in touch with Dumbledore somehow and he went overseas to see her in person."

"But Kailey's brother is only twelve; how could he possibly get himself over here?" Lily pointed out, shaking her head. "He'll get as far as an airport then they'll send him back home."

"See that's the thing, though," Tonks disagreed, still speaking slowly and quietly. "Dumbledore had a look at the note he left behind. It mentioned that he had found someone who was going to take him over here."

The word 'kidnapped' blared unsaid between the four of us more clearly than a rampaging hippogriff.

"What are we going to do?" Remus asked finally.

**End scene. I hope you all enjoyed it and will come back for the next chapter (and keep an eye out for new one-shots)! Much love!**

**:-D**


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter Twenty-seven: This Could Change Everything

**I disclaim anything recognized as famous. **

**Thank you for the reviews! Enjoy!**

_Kailey's Point of View: _

I yawned loudly and rolled my neck, tilting my head from one shoulder to the other.

"Oh," I gasped and grabbed my neck.

"Was that cracking you?" Ron asked, looking up from Hermione's Transfiguration notes.

"Uh-huh," I mumbled, rubbing the spot. "It kind of hurt."

"I'm not surprised," Hermione replied, turning a page in her Arithmancy book. "It is almost one in the morning after all."

"This is ridiculous," Harry snapped, closing his book and chucking it at the table. "How is stressing us all out going to help us learn? Do they really expect us to perform well with all the hours of sleep we lose from studying?"

"Calm down, Harry, it's not that big of a deal."

"Says the girl who broke down yesterday when her quill snapped," Ron muttered, just barely concealing a snigger as I glared daggers at him.

"Shove it, Ron."

"Alright, that's enough," Hermione said tiredly. "You three need to stop doing that."

"Come off it, Hermione, we all know you're going to get all O's," Harry shook his head.

"Do you four mind? Some of us are actually studying over here!" Angelina snapped from the other side of the common room.

"Anybody ever notice that studying is 'student' and 'dying' put together?" Lee asked, looking up from his own notes. Not even a cricket would have reacted. "Sheesh, tough crowd," he mumbled, turning back to his work.

Yeah, the OWLs were coming. Since our homework had stopped, the fifth and seventh year Gryffindors had set up an occupation of the common room. All other years avoided it at all costs after DJ had accidentally knocked into Hermione and Alicia's notes. Both of them had been studying for Potions and they're papers had gotten mixed up. The fourth year had ended up sporting donkey ears and a beak for the better half of the evening. I had been given the task of separating the notes.

"I'm going to bed," I announced. "If I don't have this figured out by now, I won't know it for the exam," I reasoned when Hermione gave me a look as I shut my Herbology book and gathered my notes.

The night before our first OWL, I couldn't sleep. Whenever I closed my eyes I was watching wand movements. If I opened my eyes, I would hear Professor Flitwick's voice squeaking enthusiastically about silencing spells. After two hours of tossing and turning I finally stood up and began pacing quietly, hoping to tire myself out enough to sleep for a few hours. It worked eventually, but when it came time to be woken up, it took all three of my roommates as well as a swat over the head with a pillow.

"I'm up!" I got out finally after the third hit.

"She knew, but I think hitting something with a pillow made her feel better," Lavender said as Parvati set the pillow down on her bed.

"Glad I could be of service," I mumbled sarcastically.

Breakfast was the most unappetizing it had ever been. The idea of putting anything sweet, salty, chewy, crunchy, warm or cold into my mouth was nauseating. I couldn't do anything but stare forlornly at the table before reaching out and filling a goblet with water. Hermione had served herself a small helping of breakfast potatoes and Ron and Harry's plates were full, but emptying at a decent pace. A small hand on my shoulder made me jump and I looked around at Alianna's giggle.

"Here," she said, sitting beside me and loading my plate up with fruit. "Now, tell me how to make something fly."

I smiled at the little girl and managed to take bites of strawberries and grapes as she quizzed me quietly on Charms.

The exams all passed by in a blur of sorts. As soon as one was over, it was time to study for the next. Alianna had taken to sitting with the Gryffindor fifth years during meals so that she could help the four of us to study a little bit more. She got some nasty looks from Cho and Umbridge, but no one actually said anything to her about it. Sleep started coming better on the third night of exams, partly because the next day was Defense and I wasn't worried about it in the slightest. On Friday, the boys decided to have a game of chess during their time off. I decided to pull out Fred and George's potion ideas and begin playing around with a few of the recipes, rationalizing that it sort of was studying for the exam.

The weekend wasn't as long as I needed it to be, but at the same time I was glad; it meant we were that much closer to being done with our OWLs forever. What a sweet feeling it was going to be.

My stress level elevated quite suddenly when I was studying for Care of Magical Creatures, though. I realized with a slight shock that I had missed out completely on some of the material at the end of third year. It had happened in all of my subjects, obviously, but I had never bothered to go back and check what I had missed in Divination or Care of Magical Creatures, knowing I would be unlikely to bother to take either one in later years. Just when I was settling down after Hermione offered me her notes, she shook her head and said "I would have thought you would be concerned with this, Kailey, how many times do we use knarl quills or fire crab shell in Potions?"

"Oh Merlin, I'm going to fail!" I cried, dropping the notes to the ground and fisting my hands in my hair.

"What? No, Kailey, that's not what I-!" Hermione started, her eyes wide as she and the boys watched me jump up and begin to pace.

"How stupid am I? This is the dumbest thing I've ever done! Ever! Why wouldn't I think it's important to know these things? I even caught up in freaking History of Magic! Who the hell even looks at those grades? No one! I don't know any profession that actually cares about what you got in History of Magic! But Care of Magical Creatures? Merlin, so many people use that! Healers need to recognize bites and the Ministry has to be able to conceal things from Muggles and Transfiguration has to make sure they don't mix up a hedgehog and a knarl and Potion Masters need to be able to brew using magical properties from all sorts of things! Why didn't I see that before?"

"Kailey, calm down!" Harry ordered, standing up and grabbing my shoulders as I circled back around. "Your Potions OWL went well, you said. And so did Herbology. Did McGonagall even mention Care of Magical Creatures during your meeting?"

"No," I said in a very small voice, cringing.

"Okay then, you're going to be fine. Stop worrying over it."

I nodded and he let go of me, turning around to sit back down. I took a deep breath as well and sat back down myself for a moment, leaning forward to gather up the notes I had flung to the ground. My outburst had not been the first, nor would it be the last, I was sure. Although, out of the four of us, I was probably the one closest to having to go and get a Calming Draught from Pomfrey.

This wasn't only due to my OWLs, though. Umbridge's attack on Hagrid was supposed to take place in two nights. I was running out of time to try and figure out if I should interfere or not. If I did, then McGonagall would not be attacked and Hagrid would get away in plenty of time. Then again, that could change the whole Department of Mysteries fiasco. Which would, of course be good, but it would also stop Voldemort from showing himself. And stop from Sirius dying. All in all, I had no idea what I was going to do.

"Kailey, would you help me with this?" Hermione asked, drawing me out of my thoughts.

"Sure," I replied, glad for the distraction.

* * *

_Keena's Point of View: _

There hadn't been any word of Kaleb. No ransoms, no rumors, nothing. We had had three meetings about it already but there was nothing beyond the note Dumbledore had taken. Lily had taken the news the hardest out of those of us who lived in Grimmauld place. She had a face and voice to put to the name, after all, the rest of us just had a muggle photograph.

The Ministry didn't know anything about the disappearance and neither did Kailey. We intended to keep it that way until we had some more knowledge on the subject. James, after quite a bit of begging, had convinced Dumbledore with a message through Fawkes to begin going out in disguise with Sirius and Remus as they tried to search for clues near werewolf encampments. Lily and I were usually in the house with Aradia by ourselves or visiting with Molly Weasley at the Burrow, just for a change of scenery.

It was a Tuesday and we were at the Burrow chatting with Molly when Bill came bursting through the kitchen door, panting.

"Dung caught wind of something," he said before any of us could ask what was wrong. "He just caught me as I was leaving the bank. He says he heard something outside of Borgin and Burkes about the muggle boy."

"What did he hear?" I demanded. "It wasn't from a Death Eater, was it?"

"No, at least, not one we know about," Bill shook his head, sitting down at the table and accepting the cup of tea from his mother. "He had an accent, Dung said, an American one. He mentioned to the shop keeper that he'd be bringing the boy by in two days. I'm not sure what for, but it gives us until Thursday to get something ready."

"That's the last day of exams for the children, isn't it?" Molly asked, looking between Lily and me for a moment.

"Yes," I nodded after thinking on it for a moment. "So we won't need to even tell her about this then. Not until it's all over, anyway."

"Bill, did you get in touch with anyone else about this yet? We don't want to keep looking and scare them off from bringing him to where we can get him," Lily asked, leaning forward with her palm flat on the table.

"No, but I'll start doing that right now," he stood up. "I'll let you know when I'm done, where will you be?"

"We should head back to London," I said to Lily. "That way we can be there for when everyone starts arriving."

"I'll clean up this before I come over," Molly added, nodding to her kitchen as Bill headed off to find a way to get in touch with Dumbledore.

By some miracle, everyone, with the exception of professors and Dumbledore, in the Order had gathered in the kitchen of Grimmauld place in just two short hours. Mad-Eye had taken Dumbledore's usual seat at the head of the table, which we had elongated for the occasion. In front of us lay a map of Knockturn Alley.

"We must assume that everyone in that alley will be an enemy," Mad-Eye stated gruffly. "Therefore I think it best that our best duelists all be present for this. Aurors, is there any way you can get the day off on Thursday?"

"All of them being off at once is going to set off a red light in Fudge's head," Sirius said, shaking his head. "Being on duty will work in our favor if a fight breaks out; they'll be the ones to respond first."

"Sirius is right, but maybe a few of them should try to be there at the start," Andromeda Tonks suggested.

"Dung, you should go too; people won't notice that you're there," James added and Dung nodded, wringing his hands together. "Besides, you know what the bloke looks like."

"I'm going too," Lily stated fiercely. "I know I was never an Auror, but you'll need someone there who can apparate Kaleb out quickly. It'll be better that I'll be someone he recognizes."

"If you're going, I'm going," James stated stubbornly.

"Me too," Sirius nodded. "Remus?"

"You had to ask?" he rolled his eyes.

"I want to go too," I added, folding my arms. "Course, I'll need a babysitter."

"I can watch her," Molly volunteered. "I'll pick her up and bring her over to the Burrow so that she won't be in the way here once everyone gets back."

"Thursday is my day off to begin with," Tonks added with a shrug. "Besides, it's not like they'll recognize my face."

"I don't know if I can get the time," Amanda said, shaking her head.

"I wouldn't want you there anyway," Mad-Eye answered. "You're the only Healer we've got at the moment."

Damien looked relieved despite Amanda's disappointment.

Several others stated their intentions of going and soon we had a plan. We would be stationed at various points throughout the alley. The Marauders were to be placed closest to Borgin and Burkes with Dung, since three of us had been Aurors to begin with and all of us were fast with our wands.

"Strange how we're doing all of this for just one muggle boy," Dedalus Diggle said thoughtfully.

"A boy who would be the perfect hostage to get Kailey to spill every single secret she knows," Kingsley shot back. "It's not strange at all when you really think about it."

* * *

_Kailey's Point of View: _

It was my Divination OWL now and all I could think about was how I had done nothing. I hadn't warned Hagrid. I hadn't warned McGonagall. I was going to have to face the outcome no matter what it was. I would have to deal with the confused looks from Ron. I would have to deal with the accusatory statements from Hermione. I would have to deal with the bitter distrust from Harry. All over again. I sighed. It was my own fault anyway.

"Alright dear, now, if you could look into the crystal ball for me," the elderly witch in front of me requested, her voice scratched from decades of use.

I stared at it blankly for a moment. _Ah, what the hell_…

"I See chaos," I stated firmly. "I See a man being chased from his house and a woman who came to defend him being brought down by several foes all at once. I See corruption. I See the truth being warped so that the speaker is made to be a liar."

"Very good," the witch muttered, scribbling with her quill. "Anything else?"

"An examination here in the Great Hall," I stated, totally not caring if she was going to witness this the next day or not. "A boy is collapsing to the ground, screaming. I think he's going to die."

I looked up at her. She was staring at me and her quill had stopped moving.

"Have you…Seen anything like this before?"

I smirked at her.

"You mean his death? I watch it every night."

She gulped and scribbled one more thing down before dismissing me. Maybe I was going to get an O in this exam after all.

That night as we walked up to the Astronomy practical, I took Harry aside.

"Do you trust me?" I asked, my eyes drowning in worry.

"Of course I do," he answered quietly, frowning at me. "Why?"

"Because I'm letting something else happen tonight," I said as we fell behind our year mates. "And I want to know that you won't hate me for it."

"I couldn't ever hate you, Kailey," he replied, not looking at me. "You're my best friend. You know that."

"One of these days, something is going to happen and then you'll never trust me again," I said with certainty as we climbed the stairs. "I'm just not sure what it is yet."

He looked at me for a moment before he grabbed me by the shoulder and turned so that we were facing each other.

"The day I stop trusting you is the day that…that I…" he shook his head and pulled me into a hug instead. "It'll be the day that I stop trusting everything," he said into my hair.

I sighed and relaxed in his arms for a moment before pulling back.

"Okay, well, let's go take this OWL then we'll be done."

"We still have History of Magic tomorrow," he said smirking at me as we hurried to catch up to everyone else.

"I know," I grinned.

* * *

_Keena's Point of View: _

Thursday morning dawned with a Fawkes message from Dumbledore.

"Hagrid was attacked last night," James said after reading the message to the kitchen, which was filled with the members who would be going to Knockturn Alley in a few hours. "He's alright and so is Fang; they've gone off somewhere where they'll be safe. Mickey wasn't so lucky," he paused and read the second half of the note. "She was hit with a handful of stunners to the chest and she hasn't woken up yet. He thinks she's going to end up at St. Mungo's and he wants Amanda to keep an eye on her."

"Does it say how many stunners?" Lily asked worriedly.

"No, Hagrid couldn't tell I guess."

"This is terrible news," Emmeline Vance shook her head. "She's not the youngest witch around; I hope she'll be alright."

"Kailey would have done something if she wasn't going to be," I argued.

"Maybe Kailey _did_ do something," Remus suggested quietly. "We won't ever know."

Silence reigned in the kitchen for a few moments before Mad-Eye began giving out orders once again. We spent a few minutes going over the strategy and finally we got the signal from Dung that it was time to head out.

We weren't all going in at once, though all of us were either in disguise or had our hoods pulled up. Sirius and Remus were the first two that were heading in, pausing closer to the store to the left of the shop. Dung and Lily went next, though they placed themselves on the opposite end of where Remus and Sirius were supposed to be. James and I were the last ones of our group and we were across the street. We went five and seven minutes apart respectively. Everyone would be in position during the next hour or so. Some of our number would be remaining in Diagon Alley near the twins' joke shop until signaled to come into the open.

"D'you reckon it'll work?" James asked me, his eyes watching over my shoulder.

A witch exited the store we were standing in front of. She gave me a strange look.

"He said he could do it, so he'd better," I answered snippily and the witch looked away.

James met my eyes for a moment and I knew he and I were thinking along the same lines. _This had better work or we're all in big trouble…_

* * *

_Kailey's Point of View: _

The entire time I sat for the History exam, I thought about Harry.

Last night, he had defended me from any questions from Ron and Hermione on our way back to the common room. "Don't you trust her?" he had asked and the other two had nodded. "Then leave her alone." And they had.

But now we were taking our final exam and I was waiting for Harry to fall asleep, for the vision to hit. What could I possibly say to him to get him to believe that Sirius was fine? That it was just Voldemort trying to get him to go to the Ministry? Alianna's prophecy was whirling around in my mind as well. Who was the blonde woman? Would her vision change if I stopped Harry from going?

A yell of pain jolted me out of my thoughts. I turned with the rest of the students to see that Harry had fallen out of his chair and was yelling as he clutched at his scar. I moved to stand up, to go to him, but one of the examiners rushed by me, ordering me to stay in my seat. I sat back down reluctantly as Harry was escorted out of the hall.

"Everyone calm down! There's only ten minutes remaining!"

Shaking, I turned back to my exam. I scribbled in a few more answers before setting my quill down and tensing myself. I chanced a glance up and saw that Hermione was sitting upright and rigid, clearly just waiting for the bell to ring so that we could get to Harry as fast as possible.

Finally, the exams were collected and we were dismissed. I jumped up and bolted from the hall, not even waiting for Ron or Hermione. My feet pounded as I headed for the Hospital Wing and I heard the other two as they tried to catch up. As I wheeled around a corner, I collided very suddenly with a body and we fell in a heap to the ground.

I blinked and looked to see who I had taken out.

"Harry!" Hermione and Ron had caught up with us and helped us to our feet. "What's wrong? What's happened?"

"Where've you been?" Ron demanded.

"C'mon, I've gotta tell you something," Harry said, not hearing either of them as he grabbed my hand and led us to an empty classroom.

"Harry, it's not true," I said as he shut the door, but I could tell that he was ignoring me. "He's lying to—"

"Voldemort's got Kaleb."

I stared at him, my breath coming out of my lungs in a whoosh. I felt dizzy, sick.

"N-no, no he doesn't! Harry, he was lying to you!" I started shaking. It had to be a lie. It needed to be a lie.

"How could he even know who Kaleb is, Kailey?" he shouted. "We have to go, now!"

"Go where?" Hermione asked, alarmed.

"The Department of Mysteries!" Harry replied. "That's where he's keeping him! We've got to get there now!"

"No, Harry, you can't go there!" I argued. "Please, you said you trusted me!"

"And you said that someday I wouldn't believe you!" he yelled back.

"I didn't mean today! Please, Harry, please, you need to listen to me! Voldemort can't have Kaleb!"

"Kailey's right, Harry, it could be a trap," Ron stated, looking between the two of us.

"WHY WOULD HE DO THAT?" Harry demanded, rounding on Ron.

"To kill you!" I shouted. "Merlin, Harry, don't be so blind! He's trying to lure you there!"

"You can't know that! It wasn't Kaleb I was supposed to see was it? WAS IT?"

"N-no, but I-I…Harry he can't have him!" I covered my face with my hands and shook.

The door opened suddenly and I forced myself to stop my nerves enough that I wouldn't jump.

"Oh, it's you lot," Ginny said, coming into the room, followed by Luna. "We thought we recognized Harry's voice. What are you doing?"

"None of your business," Harry growled.

"No need to be rude to me," she replied, glaring at him. "We were just wondering if we could help at all.

"You can't," he snapped.

"Wait," Hermione said suddenly. "Wait, they can! They can help us figure out if this is real or not!"

"How?" he demanded, and she gulped a little at the look he was giving her.

"They can help us check, w-we can go into Umbridge's office and floo headquarters. They'll know if Kaleb has been reported missing or they can go and check faster than any of us could."

Within moments, Hermione had set up a plan and Harry had raced off to get his Invisibility cloak.

"This can't be happening," I said, shaking my head. "They can't have my little brother."

"I'm sure he's fine, Kailey, this is just something that—that Harry needs to see for himself. It's probably fine," Hermione said, giving me a hug.

"Wait a minute," I said, a light bulb going off in my head. "Alianna! I can get her to make him understand! I've just got to find her and get her to help us. She can get him to see sense."

"You go find her," Hermione said. "In the meantime, Harry can floo the others and if that doesn't work, we'll get him to listen to her."

* * *

_Keena's Point of View: _

"He's moving," James muttered quietly and I looked up slightly, careful to keep my hood in place. I was leaning against the building next to James. We had been there for several hours and it was just after five o'clock.

Dung had moved from his spot and was now walking towards where Sirius and Remus were standing. He 'accidentally' bumped into a tall, thin man with graying black hair. Walking just behind him was a gangly boy with brown hair. He was facing the ground, but even from here I could tell that it was Kaleb.

"Watch where you're going!" the man shouted at Dung, who apologized profusely before disappearing down a small alleyway where Mad-Eye was waiting.

The man dusted himself off and while his eyes were down, Lily made her move. She made her way over to Kaleb and grabbed his arm, yanking him away from the man. With a shout of protest, the wizard looked up in time to receive a stunner to the face from Sirius. Before the man had hit the ground, twelve more wizards burst out from various points of the alley, wands out. Lily pulled Kaleb to the ground as a spell flew past her, throwing up a shield of her own.

James and I lunged forward to join in and within a few moments, the entire street was crowded with duelists. There was a loud bang and I glanced over to see as Lily disapparated with Kaleb in tow, leaving a glowing patch of fog in her wake as the signal to retreat. Latching myself onto my brother's arm, we disapparated to the Burrow, the agreed meeting place that we had all chosen.

We checked in with Molly and I took Aradia from her so that she could continue checking to see that everyone had made it back. Lily took a frightened Kaleb out of the room to give him a chance to calm down. We waited a half hour before Mad-Eye arrived last, sweating. He took the list from Molly and gave a lopsided grin.

"In and out, with no casualties," he grunted. "Just what I like to see. Where's the boy?"

"Lily is talking to him in the other room," Remus answered. "We didn't want to overwhelm him with visitors so he hasn't seen anyone else."

Just as he said it, Lily came into the room, though Kaleb was nowhere in sight.

"He doesn't remember anything after leaving the note for his mother. I had to cast a Finite Incantatem before he responded," she added.

"Sounds about right for an Imperious," Mad-Eye growled. "Probably just as well that he won't know. I think it's time for everyone to go home. Job well done today."

A few people cheered in agreement before the Burrow emptied itself. Lily had gone back into the room with Kaleb, Molly following her with some tea. Remus, James, Sirius and I all sat down at the table, waiting for one of them to come back and get us when he was ready.

"That could have been so much worse," Sirius stated with his eyes trained on Aradia as she napped in my arms.

* * *

_Kailey's Point of View: _

"DAD!" I shouted, rounding the corner I had seen his cloak whipping around, tugging Alianna behind me.

He paused and looked at me with anger.

"Do you realize what would happen if my identity were to be—"

"Have you seen Harry and the others?" I asked, ignoring him completely. "Please, we can't find them anywhere!"

"They were in the headmistress's office a few minutes ago."

It had taken more time than I had accounted for, for me to get into the Ravenclaw common room. By the time one of the Ravenclaws that were actually willing to help me came along, it was too late. Alianna hadn't waited for an explanation once she had seen the look on my face and had sprinted out the door with me.

"They aren't there now; all that's left is a couple of unconscious Slytherins! What did Harry say to you?" I demanded.

"He told me that someone has your younger brother," he admitted looking at me with some concern. "But I've just spoken to a trustworthy source; your brother has already been rescued."

"He's already been what?" I asked in alarm. "Who had him?"

"We're not sure yet, but I thought for certain that Potter would have told you what he had thought."

"He thought that Voldemort had him at the Ministry!" I cried, my heart beginning to hammer even louder in my chest.

"I assure you that this is not the case," he answered. "But if Potter is gone then I shall go alert the necessary agents. Stay here."

He swept away down a different corridor and I swore loudly.

"Kailey, we've got to get to where Harry is!" Alianna cried. "Your dad's warning won't get there with enough time to change anything!"

"There's no 'we' in this one, Ali, you're staying here," I stated.

"He's my cousin and they're my parents, Kailey!" she shouted at me as we raced back towards Umbridge's office. There was a working floo there after all. "You can't stop me from going! Besides, you don't know how to get to the right part of the Department of Mysteries."

I looked at her strangely as we neared Umbridge's office.

"Do you?"

"Yes."

**That about does it for this chapter! I am so sorry about how late it is, but this is the first day (yeah, I wrote it all in the past six hours) that I've had a chance! In theory, I will be finished with this story and beginning the next by the end of the summer, but please have patience! I leave for work at 8 am and get home around 830 pm most days, which leaves no time for writing. See you next chapter!**

**:-D**


	28. Chapter 28

Chapter Twenty-eight: The Battle of the Department of Mysteries

**I disclaim all that is recognized as famous.**

**Yeah, be shocked, I updated twice within 24 hours. Enjoy!**

_Kailey's Point of View: _

It was eerie running around the Ministry at night. There was no movement and every shadow looked like a Death Eater. It didn't take us long to find the Department of Mysteries, but we weren't the first ones there either. Not even the second ones.

"Don't move," the witch hissed from behind her mask, aiming her wand at me as I pushed Alianna behind me. She was guarding the door to the chamber that led to the rest of the Department.

"I could say the same to you," I growled back. "If Voldemort couldn't take me down, what makes you think you have a chance?"

"You dare speak his name?" she demanded.

"At least he doesn't hide behind a mask!"

A loud crash erupted from behind her and Alianna gasped from behind me.

"Are you calling me a coward?"

"Damn straight!"

Without lowering her wand, she lifted her other hand to remove her mask. Alianna gasped again and muttered something but I only smirked.

"I stand corrected; you and your son are _both_ cowards!" I laughed in Narcissa Malfoy's face. "I've taken him down more than once at school."

"You're just a jumped up half-blood! And who's the little mouse behind you? Some baby mudblood?"

Alianna growled from behind me, peeking past my arm with her slender wand aimed at Narcissa.

"I'm your cousin's daughter!" she shouted before letting a blast come through her wand. Narcissa dodged it, crying out in shock.

"Sirius's child? I expected a rebel out of you," she sneered once she had regained her balance. "Just a nuisance like your father, I'm sure."

"Don't talk about my dad!" she shouted, taking aim again, but I held her against me.

Narcissa took the chance and bolted through the door, not bothering to slam it shut behind her. I followed her through with Alianna glued to me, though she kept her wand aimed at anything that moved. I watched as Narcissa slammed a random door shut behind her and suddenly the circular room was spinning rapidly. Alianna squeaked and buried her head in my robes as I closed my eyes, listening for the spinning to stop. The wind died down and I opened my eyes, looking around the room. There were huge X's fading on the doors; Hermione's flames were dying. The others had already come through.

"Which way?" I asked, turning us so that we were standing back to back. "Do you have any idea?"

"No but if those flames are going out it means whoever put them there is unconscious; isn't that what happens? A spell ends when the caster is unable to keep supplying magic to it?"

"Something like that," I muttered, thinking hard. If Hermione was already knocked out, then Neville and Harry should show up any—

A door to my left flew open and three people toppled out of it. Harry and I aimed our wands at each other for a moment before we realized who the other person was.

"Harry! Thank Merlin!" I rushed forward and slammed the door shut behind them. "_Colloportus_!"

"Kailey, you were right, I'm so sorry," Harry shook his head, one hand clutching his wand, the other clutching a glass sphere that had some sort of smoke inside of it. He kept speaking, ignoring the spinning walls. "We don't know where the others are and Neville's wand broke and Hermione's…"

"She'll be fine," I replied, cutting him off with a hug. "We need to get out of here."

"Which way do you dink?" Neville asked as the walls halted.

Alianna opened her mouth to answer when a different door burst open on our right. Ron, Ginny and Luna fell into the room. Ron was giggling and lurched toward Harry, talking to him at too fast of a pace for me to follow. I went forward and pulled Ginny over to the middle of the room.

"I-I think it's b-broken," she whispered, trying to keep her breathing under control.

"Probably," I answered as Ron began explaining to Harry how they'd seen Uranus up close. I moved to help lift her up. "C'mon, though, we need to get out n—"

"There they are!" screamed a voice as yet another door burst open.

Harry flung open another door with a crash and Luna raced through it, pausing only to take Alianna's hand. I carried Ginny through with me and Harry took care of Ron before going back to help Neville carry Hermione through. Just as Harry slammed the door shut, I shouted "_Colloportus_!" again, my voice chorusing with Luna's as she aimed at a different door.

Those of us still holding wands as well as the ability to move sprinted around the room, sealing the doors as we went. I heard a bang and a scream and wheeled around in time to see Luna fly through the air before landing with a sickening thud behind some desks. She did not move again.

"_STUPEFY_!" I shrieked aiming at the Death Eater that had struck her.

"GET POTTER!" Bellatrix screamed as the other Death Eaters charged into the room, avoiding their fallen comrade.

"Harry! Hey Harry! Look! Brains!" Ron called, still giggling and swaying as he walked. "Really Harry, look!"

"RON, NO!" Harry shouted but it was too late.

"_Accio_ _brain_!"

The whole room froze to watch as the top of the brain tank flew back and shattered on the floor as one of the brains zoomed out towards Ron's outstretched hand. He caught the slimey, dripping thing and giggled.

"It feels weird it—wait—no, I don't like it—wait, stop! _Stop_!" Ron began trying to frantically get the brain to release its hold but the harder he fought, the faster the tentacles wrapped around him.

Alianna flew to his side and began trying spells to get the brain to release him. Ginny tried to move closer to her brother but she was hit in the face with a stunner. I cursed the Death Eater who had hit her. Neville was spinning beside me, aiming his wand at every Death Eater in sight, but nothing was happening with Hermione's wand. I stunned as many as I could manage, trying to defend Alianna at the same time.

Suddenly Harry sprinted from the room, holding the prophecy high above his head as he went.

"GET POTTER! THE REST DON'T MATTER!" Malfoy ordered and the remaining Death Eaters retreated.

"Stay here!" I called to Neville, but I only heard him echo my order at Alianna. I glanced back to see that she had finally managed to get the brain off of Ron, though he was now unconscious. Neville bolted through the door just ahead of me and I followed him, sealing the door behind me so that she could not follow us.

"He's dot alone!" Neville shouted just ahead of me. "He's still god us!" he continued as I leapt through the door behind him.

"_STUPEFY_!" I screamed, aiming at a particularly large Death Eater. He fell to the ground in a heap just behind where Neville was standing. I looked up just in time to see a jet of purple light racing towards me and I dodged to my left, my elbow landing on the ground with a sickening crack and a sharp pain.

"_STUBEFY_!" Neville tried but nothing happened. "_STUBEFY_! _STUBEFY_!"

"_Crucio_!" Bellatrix screamed in reply and I heard Neville's screams echo throughout the room.

They cut off abruptly and Bellatrix supplied Harry with an ultimatum. I heaved myself off of the ground and aimed my wand at the back of one of the Death Eater's heads.

"_STUPEFY_!"

Malfoy jumped and Harry dived off the dais just as the door behind me opened again. Sirius, Remus, Moody, Tonks, Kingsley, James, Lily and Keena all sprinted into the room. I turned back and began throwing as many spells as I could think of at the Death Eaters.

* * *

_Keena's Point of View: _

We had taken Kaleb back with us to Grimmauld Place. He was shaken and wanted to see his sister immediately.

"Please, won't you just take me to see Kailey? Please?" he begged, his breath coming in shallow gasps. "Then I'll go home, I'll leave you all alone, I swear, but please let me see her?"

"Calm down, Kaleb," I said, placing my hand on top of his. "It's alright, Kailey is fine. She's at school and she'll be coming home for the summer in a week or so. You can see her then, I promise. We're not here to hurt you."

"M-mom, I h-heard her t-t-telling my dad the other night," he didn't seem to really be listening to me. "She said th-that Kailey i-isn't safe to h-have around. H-he wanted her to c-c-come home to us b-but mom said she's a t-target. I-I had to come and g-get her. I had to," he shivered and covered his face with his hands.

"Kaleb, she's safe with us," Lily promised. "You'll see her soon, sweetheart, I promise."

"B-but I w-want to see her n-now," he looked up at Lily with tears in his eyes.

"We'll see how soon we can get you to her," Sirius said, speaking to the frightened child for the first time. Kaleb had been wary of all three strange men, hardly a surprise considering the last strange man with dark hair he had met had kidnapped him. "It'll be fine, you can trust us."

"Th-that's what h-he told m-me…"

He trailed off as he gazed at the fireplace with wide eyes. The rest of us looked over to see that the flames were bright green and suddenly Snape stepped out of them.

"They've gone to the Ministry," he said without waiting for us to react. "The Dark Lord gave Potter a vision of Kailey's brother being—" he stopped when his eyes landed on Kaleb. He cleared his throat. "Never mind, but they're at the Ministry. It must be a trap."

The men jumped up and so did I, though Lily glanced at Kaleb.

"We need to go now!" James shouted.

"We should bring some back-up," Lily argued but just as she said it there was a knock on the door.

Remus ran to get it and brought Tonks, Kingsley and Mad-Eye running into the room with him. They must have come to check on Kaleb.

"What's this about the Ministry?" Mad-Eye growled.

"The Death Eaters set something up, we need to go now!" Sirius shouted.

"Severus, would you stay with Kaleb and the baby?" Lily asked, her eyes pleading. He looked like he wanted to refuse, but he nodded. "Good, let's go then," she added to the rest of us.

We all apparated to the Ministry, cracking as we arrived.

"Where in Merlin's name are they?" James shouted, though he took off running for the lift.

"The Department of Mysteries!" Remus called out without pausing to think.

The eight of us managed to fit into the lift and as soon as its doors opened, we sprinted down the hall. As we approached the circular hall, I could hear the sounds of a fight. Someone was just beginning to scream.

Remus raised his wand and halted the doors, forcing them to all change shape and size.

"They're in the Death Chamber!" Lily shouted pointing to a door that was thin and tall.

James charged through the door first, but Sirius was a close second. I took in the scene before me. Kailey spent only a second to look at us before turning back around and firing off spells of her own down towards the dais. I saw Harry dive off of it and crawl towards Neville and that was all the motivation I needed to start raining curses down on the Death Eaters below.

The others moved forward to get in closer range but I held back a moment.

"You stay up here to fight, understood?"

"But I—"

"NO! It's that or leave!" I ordered. She gave me a look but nodded. I raced off towards my husband to distract one of the duelists that he was fighting.

It was just another duel, just another dance. I flung out yellow and orange light and dodged red. I was surprised my partner wasn't aiming green at me, but kept going anyway. We came closer together before dodging away from one another, dipping and diving around in a circle. I could hear the shouts of the others; Remus was yelling at Harry to take Neville and run. My back was to the exit, I had no idea what Kailey was doing. Suddenly, my partner stopped, ripping her mask away from her face as she stared wide-eyed behind me. I didn't turn, just held my wand out towards Narcissa's chest, realizing in the back of my mind I could only hear Sirius as he taunted Bellatrix.

"SIRIUS!" Kailey's scream forced me to turn and watch as a jet of bright red light slammed into his chest. He started falling, falling towards the veil in horrible slow motion. But he wasn't close enough to it, he wouldn't fall in and my heart unfroze itself for a moment.

But Bellatrix raised her wand and a blast of terrible green light was hurtling towards him now, it would push him over the edge. I started forward, reaching out, knowing I would be too late to save him, screaming as I felt arms wrap around my waist.

As suddenly as it had happened, another body lunged forward, colliding with Sirius. I watched in shock as Narcissa's body went limp as the green light hit her. A look of determination was on her face just before she fell into the Veil.

I ripped myself out of my brother's grip and landed next to Sirius, touching his face, a sob escaping from my lips when I realized he was still breathing. Whatever she had done, Bellatrix had not hit him with a lethal curse.

"He's alive, he's alive," I panted, looking up at James' worried face.

He let out a breath before his face hardened and he charged back to fight someone else. Dumbledore appeared on the stone floor beside me and was rounding up the remaining Death Eaters with no trouble. I looked up at the sound of a scream. Lily was writhing on the floor, twitching and Bellatrix was racing away from her as James headed for his wife.

"Harry," I muttered, looking around to find him as I heard his angry yell. "HARRY, NO!"

I watched as he charged up the stairs after Bellatrix. Remus tried to chase after him but was blasted aside by a wayward curse. At the top of the stairs, Kailey sprinted after him.

* * *

_Kailey's Point of View: _

"Where's the way out!" Harry shouted just as I skidded into the room behind him.

A door to his right flung open and he ran out of it, not seeming to notice that I was even there.

"Harry, this is not a good idea!" I panted beside him as he ran towards the lift.

"Then don't come," he snarled, but he let me step up inside of the lift with him anyway.

We said nothing more to each other as the lift ascended. I rubbed my broken elbow for a moment, but when the doors opened, Harry burst out of it, looking wildly in each direction. Bellatrix was just ahead of us and turned back to shoot a spell at Harry. He dodged and I shouted out "_Protego_!" and her spell rebounded towards her. She ducked and I joined Harry behind the fountain of statues, panting.

"Oh won't you come out and play? I thought you wanted to avenge your mummy, baby Potter?" she called out in a horrid, baby-voice.

"I will!" he bellowed, his voice echoing throughout the corridor.

"Ah, the baby loves his mummy?" she crooned.

Harry's face contorted into a fury I had never seen and he leapt out from behind the statue. "_Crucio_!"

Bellatrix's laughter cut off in a scream and I stood up and placed myself next to Harry, raising my wand. Bellatrix stood up, glaring at Harry as she shot off a curse in retaliation.

"Haven't tried that one before, have you baby Potter? You've got to _mean_ it. Here, let me show you!" she shouted, aiming her wand at me this time.

Harry pushed me out of the way, jarring my injured elbow and I cried out in pain.

"You cannot beat me, Potter!" she screamed. "I was and still am the Dark Lord's most loyal servant! Even your girlfriend's father has not been taught as much as I have from the Dark Lord! Surrender the prophecy and I will spare both of your lives!"

Harry looked at me and I stared back and nodded.

"I guess you'll just have to kill me!" he shouted after a moment. "Your precious prophecy is gone!" he winced and clutched at his forehead before he smiled. "And your mate, Voldemort? He already knows that you've failed him!"

"Wh-what do you mean?" she cried out in fear.

"It was smashed back there, when I was helping Neville. I wonder how much Voldemort will thank you for that?"

"YOU'RE LYING!" she shrieked. "GIVE IT TO ME! GIVE IT TO ME NOW! _ACCIO_ _PROPHECY_!"

She screamed in anger as Harry began to laugh at her.

"She can't take a hint, can she?" he said loudly to me.

"I suppose not," I agreed, letting only the barest of smiles through. "I vote we leave now."

"It's not true! MASTER I TRIED, I TRIED!"

"He can't hear you from here!" Harry taunted, standing up slowly, pulling me up by my good arm.

My breath caught as I watched Voldemort materialize in front of us.

"Can't I, though, Potter?" he asked softly.

Harry shoved me behind him without a thought, but beyond that he seemed to be frozen.

"Master, please, master, I knew not, I was fighting against traitors and fools!"

"And you killed one of my Death Eaters in the process," he snarled.

"What? No, Master, I would never! The one I killed wore no mask!"

"Idiot woman, did you not recognize your own sister?" she gasped aloud and he spared her a glance. "I will deal with you later. Now, Potter, I think you have lived quite long enough."

I clutched harder to Harry's robes, bracing myself for my nightmare to come true as Voldemort raised his wand and sent rushing green death towards us when suddenly a headless statue flew forward and took the curse, rebounding it to the ground.

"Dumbledore," I breathed in relief just as Voldemort realized the same.

The two began to duel ferociously, darting first towards one another and then away, all the time dodging out of the way of bright lights. Harry tried to get out from behind the statue, raising his wand, but it and I held him firmly in place.

"Please, Harry," I begged quietly as the two duelists paused for breath, exchanging words. "Please, don't leave me alone."

We watched as their fight escalated and suddenly Dumbledore sent a whip of flame flying at Voldemort. He twisted away from it, but it enveloped around him. Harry relaxed against my hold for a moment when the flame suddenly reared up as a snake, hissing furiously at Dumbledore.

"_Look out_!" Harry shouted and I buried my face in his back when suddenly I heard Fawkes' cry. I looked back up in time to see the phoenix explode in a burst of flame and ash.

Dumbledore banished the snake into a cloud of smoke before manipulating the water to surround Voldemort. He writhed beneath the glassy surface for a moment before he disappeared entirely. Harry took a step as Bellatrix screamed.

"Don't move, Harry!" Dumbledore shouted, fear tracing his voice.

My heart rate sped up as Harry suddenly lurched forward, yelling in pain. I released his cloak and tried to take a step back, but he spun around, both of his hands grabbing at my throat.

I gasped out for air, dropping my wand to claw at my best friend's hands as they gripped me tighter and tighter. I looked into his eyes, but the green was tinged with blood red.

"_Pick one, Dumbledore_," Harry's lips moved, but it was Voldemort's voice that seeped out. "_You say that death is nothing? So pick one to die_."

I made to kick my legs out at him, but he dodged and kneed at my left elbow. The last of my air escaped and I sank to the ground, clawing at his hands harder than ever. My head reeled as I realized Dumbledore had picked. I saw splotches of black but just before I fell out of consciousness, the red left Harry's eyes…

* * *

_Keena's Point of View: _

Once Dumbledore had given everyone orders to keep the Death Eaters bound, he raced out of the room after Harry and Kailey. I looked down at Sirius and raised my wand cautiously.

"_Rennervate_," I said softly, praying it had just been a stunner.

After a few moments, he opened his eyes, groaning and sitting up.

"Merlin, Sirius," I sighed, tears springing to my eyes. "I thought—I thought…" I trailed off and buried my face in his chest.

"I'm alright, I'm here," he murmured into my hair as I began to sob. "You can't get rid of me that easily."

I let out a slightly hysterical laugh before calming myself down. I pulled away from him for a moment before leaning up and kissing him. He returned the favor with interest and when we finished he gave me one of his lopsided grins.

"I should get knocked down more often," he said, winking at me.

I rolled my eyes and shoved his shoulder.

"C'mon, let's check on the others."

We made our way over to Lily and James. She was shuddering in his arms, but seemed otherwise unharmed. Neville, sitting beside Kingsley who had his wand aimed at the Death Eaters, kept glancing nervously at the two of them.

"Where's Harry, Keena? James won't tell me," she said softly, looking up at me with pleading eyes. James gave me a look from behind her and I got the message.

"He's with Dumbledore and Kailey," I replied without lying, but without giving her the whole truth. "You just rest for a minute, alright?"

She nodded and I tugged Sirius' arm, pulling him over to where Remus was trying to revive Tonks with Mad-Eye.

"I don't know what she was hit with," Remus muttered frantically. "She has a pulse but I can't wake her up."

"Calm down, Remus," I ordered. "It won't help her to wake up with you all panicky."

He didn't seem to hear me at first, but he calmed down slowly. After a few more tries, Mad-Eye finally woke her up. Her face shifted into a look that reminded me of her mother and she smiled at Remus.

"Did we win?" she asked softly.

"I think we did," he answered, accepting the hand that she reached towards him.

"Alright, 'm gonna sleep now, 'kay?" she muttered. "Promise, it's just sleep."

"No, Tonks," he said, shaking his head. "You hit your head when you fell, we have to stay awake for a bit," he continued and she glared at him.

"Just a nap?"

"No, Tonks."

"You can't make me," she yawned.

"Can so, Nymphadora."

Her eyes shot open and she glared at him.

"Don't call me…that!"

He laughed at her and I was satisfied that she was alright for the moment. Sirius tugged on my arm this time and led me over to sit on one of the benches.

"What happened after I got hit?" he asked.

"Bellatrix tried to hit you with the killing curse," I whispered, looking away from him.

"She tried? Did she miss?" he asked, frowning and turning my head so that I was facing him again. He read my face before his expression morphed into worry. "Who did we lose? Who was it?"

"You won't believe it," I mumbled, shaking my head. "But it was Narcissa."

"My cousin?" he asked, dumbstruck.

"How many Narcissas do you know?" I asked, shaking my head. "I don't know what made her do it, but she just…pushed you out of the way."

"Well, we'll just have to bring her back and get her to tell us!" he whispered urgently.

"Sirius…" I sighed and his face grew even more concerned. "She fell through the Veil."

He sucked in a breath before blowing it out. I looked at him with concern but he only shook his head.

"That makes no sense."

"We'll see if Kailey knows anything," I replied softly.

Before he could reply, I shivered violently before I froze, staring at Sirius.

"Something is wrong."

The words had hardly left my mouth when a silver phoenix flew into the room, coming to hover in front of me.

"Follow me," Dumbledore's voice commanded.

I blinked at it and stood up, hesitating and glancing back at James and Lily.

"Go, we'll be right behind you," James said, helping Lily to stand up.

Sirius and I ran up the steps and out into the corridor, following the phoenix all the way to the main floor of the Ministry. I hardly took in the fact that the statues from the fountain lay in scattered pieces all across the floor or the surrounding Aurors and Ministry officials, all of whom were talking in terrified whispers. My eyes went straight to the center of the room where Harry and Kailey both lay unconscious, Dumbledore bending over the two of them.

I skidded to a halt beside him.

"What happened to them?" I demanded.

Harry's face was pale and drawn but Kailey's lips looked a little blue and she had red marks around her neck, some spots blossoming into purple bruising.

"Voldemort possessed Harry," he said quietly. "He used him to choke Kailey."

"Is she—?" Sirius began as I gasped.

"No, she's breathing, but just barely. I want her taken to Madame Pomfrey immediately," he stated, looking up at Sirius. "I will give you a Portkey if you believe you have the balance."

"Of course," he replied, bending down slightly to lift Kailey into his arms. "I'll see you back at the school," he added to me as Dumbledore handed him a bit of broken statue.

The two of them disappeared with a faint flash that I would have missed if I had blinked. I looked back down at Harry's unconscious face again.

"Will he remember what he did?" I asked quietly.

"Yes," he answered, looking up at the sound of hurried footsteps.

I looked up as well to see Lily and James come into view. The crowd parted to let them pass and she stumbled over to kneel beside me, lifting a hand and brushing the hair out of her son's face.

"Will he be alright?" she demanded.

"I believe he will," Dumbledore replied. "But you should know, Voldemort took possession of his body."

"Where's Kailey?" James asked after a moment of digesting this information.

"Voldemort attacked her; I had Sirius bring her to see Madame Pomfrey."

"Voldemort attacked her…?" James repeated before his face was consumed with fury. "He used Harry's body, didn't he?"

"Unfortunately," Dumbledore nodded and Lily gasped.

"Will she be alright?"

"Yes, I believe she will be."

A soft groan from Harry halted our conversation and we all looked down at him.

"Harry? Harry, it's alright now, son," James called softly and my nephew's eyes opened slowly to take in the scene around him.

"Dad? Mum?" he moved to sit up and James helped him, supporting him. "Where's…where's Kailey?" he asked, his voice trembling as he glanced around to see everyone in view.

"Harry, tell me, are you feeling well?" Dumbledore asked, not answering him.

"Yeah, yeah, 'm alright," he rubbed his head. Then he froze, his eyes opening wider in terror. "What did I do?" he let out in a horrified whisper.

"Nothing," I said quickly. "Nothing, Harry, she's fine, Sirius took her to the castle. She's going to be fine, love."

He started shaking and looked around between the four of us.

"Where's Ron? Is he alright? What about Hermione and Neville and Luna and Ginny? What about Ali?" he demanded, his voice trembling.

"Alianna is here too?" I suppose I shouldn't have been shocked to hear that.

"Neville is fine, Harry, we haven't seen the others, but I'm sure they're okay," James took over as my panic began to climb back up.

"Here, James, Lily, take Harry with you," Dumbledore said, lifting up another piece of rubble and handing it to my brother. "I will see you in half an hour," he added just as Fudge made his way over to us.

The three of them disappeared and I looked up at the headmaster.

"Go and find her."

I didn't need to be told twice.

* * *

_Kailey's Point of View: _

I woke up because my throat was sore. Breathing in and out hurt, but my lungs were hungry for the air. I opened my eyes slowly, feeling the throbbing around my neck, and sat up to find myself in the Hospital Wing. I wasn't the only occupant.

Hermione lay in the bed next to me, so still that it scared me until I saw her chest rise and fall. Ron was across from her and beside him was his sister. Mrs. Weasley was seated between the two at the moment, sleeping soundly. On Ginny's other side slept Luna and on my other side laid Neville, his grandmother snoring softly in the chair in between us. Hermione's parents weren't here and neither was Luna's father, at least not at the moment. Alianna and her parents weren't in the room either. I hadn't expected to see my father.

"M-ma-" I tried to call for Madame Pomfrey but found my voice to be uncooperative. It hurt my throat when I tried anyway, so I flung my covers aside and stood up shakily, heading over to her office, where a light was shining in the little window that she had.

I knocked softly on her door, looking through its window, and she looked up, startled when she realized it was me. I pointed at my throat and she stood up, opening the door.

"Goodness, Ms. Snape, you should not be out of bed!" she whisper-yelled at me.

"I-I-" I gave up again and pointed at my throat.

"Is it bothering you?" she asked kindly. I nodded then winced at the movement. "Alright, dear, let me give you some pain potion and then a dreamless sleep."

I tried to grin at her as I followed her back to my bed, but I found it difficult to put the expression on my face. I took the potions and fell asleep quickly.

When I woke up the second time, it was because of the sunlight and the voices all around me. I opened my eyes to see Neville back in his uniform, talking to his grandmother about his wand. Ginny and Luna were also back in uniform and were discussing something about last month's Quibbler. Mrs. Weasley was fussing with Ron's pillows and he was wincing every so often, reaching up to scratch huge welts that were covering his arms. Hermione was still asleep by the looks of it.

"Kailey, you're awake!" Ron called and everyone was suddenly looking at me. "D'you know where Harry is? He's usually the only one in here and now he's the only one not in here."

I just shrugged, not wanting to test out my throat again. And not wanting to talk about Harry.

"Well did you see him at all before you passed out?"

I nodded.

"And he was alright?"

I nodded again.

"Kailey, you've got something on your throat," Ginny said, squinting to see what it was. "Did you get hit with a spell?"

My chest constricted and I slid down my pillow, wishing it would just swallow me whole. No way was I going to explain this with charades.

"Ah, Ms. Snape, I see you're up again," Pomfrey came out of her office and walked towards me. "Is your throat feeling any better?"

I nodded, grateful for her distraction.

"Could you try speaking a bit, dear?"

"Y-yeah," it came out as a breathy whisper, with hardly any sound to it at all.

"Just as I thought," she muttered to herself, searching around on the bedside table next to me for a bottle of potion. "It may take a little while for your voice to return to normal, dear, so don't push it too hard," she handed me a vial of green liquid, which I eyed apprehensively. "Just drink it, it will numb the pain and help improve the bruising."

I sighed and gulped the vial down in one go.

"Bruising? What did she get hit with?" Ron asked, frowning between me and Pomfrey.

Before she could answer, the doors to the wing swung open. Keena and Alianna entered the wing, followed by Sirius, who was holding a squirming Aradia. Alianna bounced over to my bed and sat down on the end of it.

"How're you feeling?" she asked, cocking her head to the side.

I shrugged, not really sure how I was feeling.

"Thought so," she nodded. "Oh and guess what?"

I raised an eyebrow.

"I'm grounded for the _whole_ summer!" she squealed. "I'm not allowed to have any friends over or go over to any friends' house. Oh and I'm not allowed on my broom either. Nobody else got grounded, though, since everyone else got hurt."

_And you're excited because _why_ exactly…?_

"But it isn't like I don't see you and Harry everyday anyway, right? So it's not like being _really_ grounded."

"Ali, where's Harry, do you know?" Ron asked and the little girl's face fell.

"He doesn't want to come," she said quietly, her eyes flicking towards me for a moment.

Even though I knew it was a horrible thing, I felt relieved at that. Half because I wanted the bruises around my neck to heal first.

And half because I was afraid of Harry.

**Drama, drama, drama! I hope you're all happy that Sirius lived (I know I am!)! And I'm curious, did anybody figure out it was Narcissa who was going to bite the big one? I won't be insulted if you thought it was obvious, I meant it to be. Well, until next chapter!**

**:-D**


	29. Chapter 29

Chapter Twenty-nine: Telling Truths

**I disclaim anything that is recognized as famous. **

**Thank you so so much for the reviews! Enjoy!**

_Keena's Point of View: _

I sat behind my desk, Sirius and Dumbledore sitting on my right and Severus sitting on my left. In front of us sat an annoyed, if confused, Draco Malfoy.

How do you tell a child that his mother is dead? How do you tell him that she died to save someone else, someone she considered an enemy?

Alianna had told me that she had had a vision of Narcissa pushing Sirius out of the way. Kailey had written down the pieces of the prophecy that she could remember. We had all been more than a little shocked at the contents. But Kailey had written down a question that we hadn't thought much about.

What will happen to Draco now?

His father was (rightfully) in Azkaban and his mother was dead.

"Why am I here?" Draco demanded finally, his arms crossed over his chest, his entire air reading that he felt above all of us. Arrogance in its purest form, but his mother was dead.

"Draco, last night something terrible happened," I began and he must have noticed my gentle tone because he uncrossed his arms for a second and an expression of fear crossed his face for a moment. "Some students were lured to the Ministry of Magic and were then ambushed by several Death Eaters. Both of your parents were among them."

I stopped for a moment, unsure how to continue, but none of the three men surrounding me took up the thread. I took a deep breath.

"Your father has been arrested but I'm afraid that your mother was killed," there, I'd said it, the blowing words that would change his life completely. A fifteen year-old boy had just learned that his mother was dead and his father was incarcerated.

"H-how?" he choked out, his arrogance completely diminished and replaced by a childish confusion.

"She…she saved someone. She got in the way of a Killing Curse fired off by…" how could I tell him that his _godmother_ had been the one to fire the curse?

"By who?" he demanded, his voice cracking. "Who was it? Who killed my mother?"

"Bellatrix Lestrange," Snape stated quietly.

Draco just stared at Snape. His breathing was labored and his hands shook.

"The Ministry has decided that you will be sent to live with a cousin of your mother's, rather than your other aunt," Dumbledore stated. He didn't mention that Andromeda had refused to take him in when there were those who had children Draco's age around.

"I-I don't understand. What about the arrangements my parents made?"

"The family with which you were to be sent to has been deemed unfit by the Ministry due to extenuating circumstances," Dumbledore replied. He didn't mention that the patriarch of the Notts had also been sent to Azkaban. He would find out soon enough. "This summer, you shall be going home with Auror Black."

Draco swallowed and stared up at my husband. I had expected a tantrum, not a fearful expression. I looked at Sirius as well to see that his expression was blank. I don't think he really wanted to take Draco in, but he did feel that he owed Narcissa his life. I felt the same.

"Where do you live?" he asked finally.

I wondered briefly how he and Harry would tolerate each other once they realized they would be sharing a bedroom.

* * *

_Kailey's Point of View: _

Harry still hadn't come to visit the Hospital Wing and it was our second day in there. The bruising on my neck was almost completely faded now, but my voice was still gone. My shouting sounded like a muffled whisper. Hermione had taken to reading my notes out loud to everyone in the room, though I had to be careful that what I said didn't make her laugh too hard. Her ribs were very sore and, from what I could tell, she was very lucky she hadn't been hit any harder. Ron's welts were shrinking down, finally, and he said that they didn't itch as much. Nothing worse than a thought trying to scratch its way out of your mind, Pomfrey said.

Neville, Ginny, Luna and Alianna visited us both days. None of them wanted to deal with the questions that were flying around the castle. It made me wonder how Harry was coping. I wanted Alianna to drag him up to the Hospital Wing, but I was afraid of seeing him again. What do you say to someone after they've choked you? Pomfrey had told me I was lucky I hadn't died. I wish she had kept her mouth shut.

"Neville, did Harry say why he wouldn't come?" Ron asked as Dobby bobbed around the room with a tray of sandwiches.

"No, he just said he thought you three should get your rest," he shrugged. "But he knows Pomfrey so I don't know why he doesn't think you're all getting rest."

"Kailey knows why," Alianna said from her spot at the end of Hermione's bed. "Because you were the last one he saw."

I sighed and put my head back so I was looking at the ceiling.

"You know I wasn't going to mention anything about it," Hermione began slowly. "But those bruises around your neck are shaped like two hands, Kailey."

I didn't move or acknowledge that I had heard what she said in any other way.

"The only thing wrong with you is your throat and if it had been a magical injury, like a spell or curse or something, Pomfrey's potions would work faster, wouldn't they?" Hermione continued, obviously not getting the hint. "But if the damage was caused by human hands, it would have to heal a little differently because there isn't anything magical that needs reversing. It's not like a broken bone because nothing needs to grow back together. Kailey, someone tried to choke you."

"Y-you're talk-ing like…I w-wasn't…there."

"Harry saw you get choked?" Ginny asked, looking between Hermione and me in confusion. "But why would that stop him from coming to see everyone?"

I closed my eyes and waited for them to talk it out.

"You haven't been asking to see him, either," Ron stated bluntly. "You couldn't even be apart from him after what happened last year."

"She doesn't want to see him," Luna said airily. "Except she does; I think they're both afraid of seeing each other again."

"They are afraid," Alianna put in. "Harry keeps asking me how you're doing, Kailey, but he's trying to be sneaky about it. He's not very good at being sneaky, though. And whenever I bring you up, he starts looking guilty."

"Harry's the one who choked you, isn't he?" Hermione said quietly and the room fell into deep silence.

I gulped and looked at her, meeting her eyes head on.

"And now you're afraid of him?" she asked, tilting her head to the side.

I blinked at her and looked down at my hands. Was I afraid of him? A little, I suppose, how could I not be nervous? A small voice in the back of my head reminded me that it wasn't him, it had been Voldemort. _But if he did it once, could he do it again…?_

"That doesn't sound like something Harry would do," Neville said with certainty.

I closed my eyes again and rubbed the back of my neck gently, hoping to massage out some of the soreness.

"Either way, I don't blame you for being afraid," Ginny said quietly. "I know I would be afraid of someone who did that to me."

My eyes snapped open and I glared at her.

"D-don't…say it…l-like that!" my scream came out as a whisper. "It w-wasn't his…f-fault! He c-couldn't…control h-himself!"

But it was only the thought I had been thinking since waking up; Ginny had just been brave enough to admit it was real. I buried my face in my hands, pressing down on my eyes, totally at war with myself. Why couldn't Harry just come to the Hospital Wing himself to prove to me that it wasn't his fault? Why was he keeping me waiting? Didn't he know that not seeing me was only making me more afraid of what he could do?

Angry tears welled up in my eyes and I shoved my covers off. I stormed into the bathroom and called a house-elf to me, asking for some clothes. I changed quickly and ran a brush through my long, knotted hair before racing out of the bathroom and out of the wing, ignoring the others as they tried to stop me. I had to find Harry; I had to make this stop.

I didn't bother heading to Gryffindor tower, there was no way he would be up there. He wouldn't be with his godparents either and his own parents had gone home this morning after saying goodbye to us; they promised not to bring Kaleb to see me until my throat had healed entirely but that meant that they had to go back to Grimmauld Place. He might be with Hagrid, but somehow I doubted it. So it was towards the Quidditch pitch that I went.

Once I got past the oak doors, I sprinted to the field. As I got closer, I saw that there was someone zooming around in the air. He was going so fast, he had to be riding a Firebolt. I climbed up into the stands and realized I had no way of getting his attention. But he spotted me on one of his tight spirals towards the sky and he leveled out and stared at me. Even from here, he looked too pale. I lifted my hand and gestured for him to come closer.

He came to land in front of me and he set his broom down. We stood five feet apart.

"S-stop being…s-stupid," I said, glaring at him.

"Stupid? Look at what I did to you!" he shouted hoarsely. He had been yelling these past few days, apparently. "Look at your throat! Those are _my_ _hands_! I did that to you!"

"I-it wasn't…y-your—"

"DAMN IT, KAILEY!" he bellowed, turning away from me and punching his hand into the canvas that lined the stands. "DON'T YOU GET IT? I ALMOST KILLED YOU!"

"No!" I shouted. My voice came out with a squeaky whistling noise but I glared at him just as hard as he was glaring at me. "Y-you don't…get it! I d-don't care! I-I'm here…a-aren't I?"

"Yeah, thanks to Pomfrey and some luck!" he yelled back, though he was quieter and he was at least being patient enough to let me finish.

"N-no, Harry, y-you…y-you let me go!"

He stood there staring at me, his angry glare falling off into a mask of confusion tinged with hope.

"J-just before…I-I went down…y-your eyes, they t-turned…green again," I forced out, my throat beginning to scream at me in protest. "A-and then…y-you let me go."

"Still, you should stay away from me; you'll be safer if you stay away from me," he looked away, lifting a hand to run it through his hair. He was more like his father than he would ever know.

"I-if you th-think…you c-can get…rid of me that…easy—" I took a step forward and he flinched. "—c-clearly you m-missed…s-something big."

"Something like what?" he asked, taking a tentative step forward so that we were close enough that we could have held hands.

"S-something l-like this," I said, closing the gap. I reached up and laid my lips on his, lingering for a moment before pulling away.

I gave him a hard stare in response to his shocked face. He blinked at me for a moment before he pulled me back to him. I slid my arms up around his neck and one of his hands weaved into my hair, holding my head. My heart rate was sky-rocketing; it felt like it was going to explode out of my chest.

When we finally broke for air, I leaned against his chest, all of my fear from the past few days gone.

"D-don't…ever t-try to…s-stay away like that…a-again," I ordered, not sure if he could hear me or not.

I felt him laugh and looked up at him.

"You're talking like I have a choice. C'mon, I have a feeling Pomfrey didn't let you out."

I pouted at him and hugged him tighter for a moment.

"You really want to risk making Keena or Snape angry at you when you can't talk your way out of things?" he suggested lightly.

"Fine," I sighed, turning to walk down the stands.

"Where're you going?"

I frowned and looked back at him. He was holding his broom up high enough for me to mount it. I grinned and got on, Harry mounting on behind me.

"I've always wanted to fly through the castle."

"I-if you…c-crash us…!" I didn't have time to finish my sentence as he kicked off from the stands and raced off towards the castle.

* * *

_Keena's Point of View: _

Sirius and Severus stayed with Draco in my office while Dumbledore and I decided that we would go and visit the Hospital Wing to see how they were all doing.

"Has Harry gone to see them yet?" he asked quietly as we crossed through the Great Hall.

"Not yet, sir, I think he's afraid of seeing her again," I replied.

Suddenly the doors banged open and a gust of wind rushed by us.

I blinked and stared at the broom just before it disappeared from view.

"Was that-?"

"I believe it was," Dumbledore replied, humor lacing his tones.

"Both of-?"

"Yes, Keena," he chuckled. "I wonder if Madame Pomfrey noticed her absence or not?"

We approached the Hospital Wing doors and cringed at the sound of someone yelling about safety in the halls.

"Sounds like a 'yes' to me, sir," I grinned.

Dumbledore opened the doors and we entered to see that Kailey was being forced back into her bed while the others laughed at her. I think they were laughing partly because Pomfrey was using Harry's broom to do it.

"Ah, headmaster, thank goodness! Would you please help me to get Ms. Snape into her bed?"

Kailey looked over at Dumbledore and raised an eyebrow clearly saying 'You think I'll listen?'

"Ms. Snape, you really should be getting your rest, don't you want to be able to see your brother soon?"

Her body wilted and she allowed herself to be pushed back into bed. But Harry glared at him.

"Low blow, sir," he nearly growled, sitting down beside Kailey and taking one of her hands in his. She gave his hand a squeeze and he dropped the look, turning to address Pomfrey to ask for his broom back.

I cleared my throat and took a seat on the edge of Kailey's bed.

"There is something that needs to be discussed and since all of you are so close, I might as well tell you all now," I began, deciding it was now or never. "The woman who died saving Sirius was Narcissa Malfoy, Draco's mother."

Silence in the room was immediate and Alianna hopped off of Hermione's bed and came to sit next to me instead.

"Draco is Sirius' first cousin once removed and he and I have been granted custody of Draco. That means, obviously, that he is going to be coming to live with us," I prepared myself for an explosion from Harry but it didn't come. I looked over to see that he was staring at the ground. "The news hasn't sunk in for him yet, so I can't tell you how he is handling everything. But I do expect you all to tolerate him if you cannot be kind to him. I don't want to hear anything about 'I'll be nice if he is' because, frankly, I don't expect him to be nice to anyone for a long while."

"Does he know that his mum saved dad?" Alianna asked quietly.

"No, not yet, we don't want him too burdened down right now, all he knows is that she died saving someone from the Order and that it was his aunt who killed her. I think that's quite enough to digest for now."

"His _aunt_?" Ron asked, his expression reading shocked.

"Yes, Bellatrix Black Lestrange," I nodded. "They have another sister, Andromeda, who is Tonks' mother."

"Who is Auror Black _not_ related to?" Neville asked quietly, allowing a few smiles to flit through the room.

I glanced towards Harry again. He was still looking at the ground, his expression suggested he was thinking hard about something and he was not enjoying the conclusion.

"Knut for your thoughts, Harry?" I said quietly.

"She wouldn't have died if we hadn't gone," he replied distantly. "If I had listened to Kailey…" he trailed off and looked up at her.

She was glaring at him and opened her mouth for a moment before letting out a little coughing noise. She shook her head and grabbed some parchment and a quill from her bedside table, sitting at an angle so that Harry couldn't read it. When she was done, she handed it over to Hermione.

"_Maybe she wouldn't have died, but Cedric wouldn't have died if _I_ had just told someone about that tournament over the summer. The basilisk in second year didn't have to happen either and neither did the Sorcerer's stone. You're not _allowed_ to get mad at yourself because you _never_ let me get mad at myself. So there_," Hermione's lips twitched as she read the last of it. "She's right Harry," she added, looking up at him.

"Besides, if everything were to change, we would have new problems facing us," Alianna added. "Like the time I Saw myself eating an apple for breakfast but I decided to eat a waffle with strawberries instead. I did much better on my Charms exam that day, but not as well as I was supposed to in Transfiguration."

We all stared at my daughter for a moment.

"Ali, I don't see how one would affect the other," Ginny said finally.

* * *

_Kailey's Point of View: _

I inhaled slowly before sighing it all out in a gust. My throat was healed and, even though my voice was still cracking, the bruises were gone. I was very grateful for that; Harry hadn't been able to stop himself from glancing down at them every so often. But today was an important day. For one, I was finally out of the Hospital Wing, though Ron and Hermione still weren't allowed out yet. For another, Lily and James were bringing Kaleb to visit me at Hogwarts.

Dumbledore said that Kaleb would be the first muggle in over twenty years to come to the castle on invitation. He was going to make it so that the enchantment that keeps muggles away wouldn't affect Kaleb anymore. He had also set it up so that Kaleb and I could meet in Gryffindor's old chambers.

Harry and I were waiting down there now, sitting in the spacious living area that so closely resembled the common room. I was staring unblinkingly at the fireplace, waiting for the flames to turn green. Keena and Sirius were just outside in the hall, just in case something happened. I don't know what they were expecting, but it was making me nervous.

Finally the fire turned green and Lily stepped out of it, Kaleb clinging tightly to her side. He looked exhausted and dizzy, though I bet the latter was due to travelling through the Floo Network. I stood up and met his eyes head on. He gazed at me for a moment and I opened my arms to him. My little brother needed no second invitation and he broke away from Lily without a thought.

"Sh, it's okay," I murmured, hugging him close as he shook, hardly noticing as Lily snuck quietly out of the room with James, though I hadn't even noticed him entering. "Breath, Kaleb, you're alright."

"It's not me I'm worried about," he replied, leaning back from me, looking down at me. "They told me that you had gotten hurt. Then I found a newspaper article about you."

The article hadn't been about me, but they had managed to get wind of the fact that I had been injured. It just hadn't explained what had happened very well.

"Why would you do something that stupid, Kailey? You knew that bad guy was around, why did you go right to him?" he demanded, his nervous tears being replaced by anger. I preferred his anger, actually. "It was a wicked dumb thing to do!"

"Kaleb, it was wicked dumb of _you_ to run away," I reminded him and his anger deflated a little bit. "Besides, I'm still here, aren't I?"

"Barely," he rolled his eyes. "I can't believe mom never told me about this place," he added, glancing around us.

"Are you kidding? You're the one that didn't believe it when I did tell you!" I replied, grateful that he was looking for distractions.

"Whatever," he muttered, looking away from me and turning slightly red. "But I can't believe she didn't tell you the other part."

I stayed quiet, wondering if he was mad.

"I met him that other night," he added without considering my silence, wiping away the last of a spare tear. "Seems like a huge jerk to me; y'know, he made me change a diaper?"

"You know _how_ to change a diaper?"

"Mom made me learn; I had to babysit the next door neighbor's kid a while back," he shrugged. "But he really was kind of mean."

"You get used to it," I shrugged in reply.

Harry snorted from his seat on the couch behind us.

"She's lying, you don't get used to it," he said, shaking his head.

"You're Harry, right?" Kaleb tried. "They mentioned you in that article too. How come you didn't tell me you were famous last summer?"

"Last summer it was more like I was infamous," Harry answered, scratching the back of his neck.

"That's even cooler!"

"Kaleb, I've missed you, but I think you've gotten weirder."

"Says the girl who waves around a stick all day in an old castle," he shot back, sticking his tongue out at me.

"Careful, I could make it stick that way," I teased, pulling out my wand.

He ignored my jab, his eyes zeroing in on my wand.

"Can I see it?" he asked. "Or see you do magic with it?"

"You can hold it, but don't expect it to do anything for you," I smiled slightly, handing it to him.

"Aw, this is wicked awesome!" he said excitedly, waving it around in large, sloppy loops. "Am I doing it right?"

"Not at all," I smirked, shaking my head.

"Besides, you've got to say the magic words," Harry grinned.

"Abracadabra?"

This statement caused Harry and me to burst out laughing, though Kaleb only looked at us in confusion. He huffed and shook his head at us in aggravation.

"Fine, show me something real, then," he ordered, thrusting my wand back towards me.

I took it in my hands and looked at him, still laughing.

"What do you want to see?"

"Something…special…and hard to do! Like, something that not many people could pull off without a lot of hard work first," he lost his annoyed look and smiled challengingly at me.

"Something difficult to do?" I asked, frowning at him.

"Please, Kailey," Harry scoffed. "Just show him your patronus."

"What's a patronus?"

"It's…" I paused, frowning and glancing at Harry. "It's made up of good feelings, and it takes on an animal shape that reflects your personality or the personality of your soul mate."

"Okay," he looked unimpressed. "What's it do?"

"They can send messages," I replied, reluctant to tell him anything about dementors.

"That's it?"

"Well, um, no," I blushed and glanced at Harry again for help.

"They're good for protecting people from a specific kind of monster," he said for me. "But there aren't many people who can do them before they finish school. And you have to have a very good memory in order to cast it the right way."

"Sounds easy," Kaleb shrugged. "Kailey's got plenty of good memories."

And plenty of bad too, but why should I spoil his mood?

"Do you want to see it or not?" I asked, rolling my eyes at him.

* * *

_Keena's Point of View: _

A shout sounded from the other room and we all glanced up but it was followed moments later by the words "That's wicked awesome!" so we all settled back down.

"How is Draco doing?" Lily asked, looking between Sirius and me.

"He's…he's doing pretty badly," I answered after weighing my response. "I was expecting him to lash out at everyone but it's the complete reverse. He's totally withdrawn."

"He knows that he's going to be with people who don't tolerate the sort of attitude he's used to displaying at school and I'm also fairly certain that he thinks we hate him," Sirius added. "He's the only child out of all the Slytherins who have Death Eater parents who is being taken from one side and thrown into the other."

"How've the kids been acting towards him?" James asked, rocking Aradia back and forth as she drowsed in his arms. "Have there been any fights?"

"No, but I think there might have been a change in the social hierarchy," I answered shaking my head. "Crabbe and Goyle have changed allegiance completely for one thing. Goyle's stuck himself in with Nott and Crabbe seems to be going solo for the moment. Frankly, that scares me."

"If he's anything like his father, it should scare you," Lily answered, shivering slightly. "But I do wish there was some way for us to make this easier on him."

"Unfortunately, culture shock is all that he's going to be getting," Sirius replied. "Trust me; he's not going to know how to act around any of us."

"Alianna went up to him this morning after breakfast, you know how she is, she doesn't care about the houses at all," I began, smiling faintly at the memory. "She pulled him back towards the tables so that they were the only two students around and she just gave him a hug. He had no clue what to do, it was so funny, he just sort of patted her on the back. I asked her what she said to him to get him to listen to her and apparently she told him that Sirius wanted to talk with him."

"That is amusing," Lily agreed. "But it's very sad too."

"Of course, but at the same time," I shrugged and let the sentence end there.

"He didn't push her away at all?" James asked with an eyebrow raised. "Maybe there is hope for him."

"Does he know that he and Harry are sharing a bedroom at Potter Mansion yet?" Lily asked, leaning forward in interest.

It had been decided yesterday that we would no longer live in Headquarters. Since Voldemort was now out in the open again, London was no longer as safe of a place to be. James, Remus, Lily and Bill had spent the last few days rebuilding all of the wards around the house. It wouldn't be like last summer where there was hardly ever time for all of the adults to be in the house at once, either. Plus, we all knew that there would be no way to keep all of the kids from eavesdropping and we weren't totally confident that Draco wouldn't pass information along.

"No and neither does Harry," I answered after glancing to see Sirius shaking his head. "I don't know quite how…unhappy the two of them are going to be once they realize it. They get along as well as Snape and James used to."

"Used to?" Lily snorted, giving her husband a look.

"Hey, since we've come back he and I have only dueled once!"

"Yeah, and Lily and I still had to break the two of you up," I reminded him.

He rolled his eyes but didn't answer.

"When is Kaleb going home?" Sirius asked, shifting the conversation as he looked between James and Lily.

"We don't know," Lily shrugged. "He hasn't asked to leave at all except to come and see Kailey. Dumbledore said that he would deal with it and let us know when it was sorted out."

"You don't think he could be planning on Kaleb staying, do you?" I frowned. "He'll miss out on his schooling and I can't imagine that his mother or father would be okay with it."

"I could probably home school him a bit if it was necessary," Lily answered. "But you're right; I don't think it would work for very long. There are just different things you need to know to function in the muggle world."

"But Moony got a letter yesterday from the Ministry," James added, standing up to place Aradia in the playpen that Sparky had brought in for us. "He's got custody of Kailey now. He went in to make sure that they wouldn't make her change her last name."

"Why would she have to?" Sirius frowned.

"She wouldn't, but the letter indicated that they were altering her records…again. He just wanted to make sure nothing like that happened," Lily replied, rubbing the back of her neck. "He's very sensitive about it, actually. He keeps bringing up how she should have been put with a married couple since she needs a mother."

"I thought he and Tonks were together?"

"Not officially," Lily rolled her eyes. "Though she keeps asking me how she should act towards Kailey. Should she be a friend or a parent? What happens if Remus never gets up the nerve to act and she's spent all this time getting to know Kailey? She's all confused and he's pretending not to notice."

"Well it isn't as though she's going to consider them as her parents, right? She still calls Snape 'dad' when she talks to him in private," Sirius pointed out with a slight shrug.

"C'mon, Padfoot," James rolled his eyes. "This is _Moony_ we're talking about here. He overanalyzes everything."

* * *

_Kailey's Point of View: _

Kaleb went back to Grimmauld Place with Lily and James after we took him on a tour of the castle. He had been a little freaked out when the portraits talked back to him and watching his face when Dobby appeared to tell us it was time for him to go was priceless. I had been tempted to ask him about mom but he hadn't brought her up or his dad at all so I left it alone.

Ron and Hermione were finally released from the Hospital Wing with just enough time to pack up and leave Hogwarts. The Leaving Feast was, if it were possible, more solemn than it had been the previous year. Dumbledore had closed it off with a reminder that should anyone ever need a safe haven, Hogwarts would always be open. I hadn't been able to look towards the teacher's table when he had said that.

Harry had not brought up the prophecy in front of any of us and the train ride home was nearing its end. Maybe he just wasn't ready for it yet. I looked up at him as I leaned against his shoulder. His face was furrowed in concentration as he tried to beat Ron in a chess match. He glanced down at me and smiled, wrapping his arm around me instead of having me lean against him. I smiled in return and looked away. Maybe the prophecy wasn't something that had surprised him at all, then.

"How bad do you think it will get?" Hermione asked quietly as the train slowed into the station. "The war, I mean."

I closed my eyes, thankful that Alianna had chosen to sit with her own friends this time around.

"Bad," I replied. "But maybe not as bad as it could have been."

"And maybe worse," Ron added when I didn't.

I sighed and hugged Harry closer to me for a moment.

We gathered up our trunks and made our way out onto the crowded platform. It took us a few minutes, but we finally found everyone. Lily began fussing over how Harry had not managed to shut his trunk, James leaning over to help. Sirius held Aradia out to her sister so that he could shrink Alianna's belongings. Hermione was wrestling Crookshanks back into his carrier, which Ron was holding despite protest. Harry had struck up a conversation with Kaleb and both of them were laughing every so often. The twins were showing off their new wardrobe to Ginny, though she was rolling her eyes at them every few moments, and the Weasley's were talking quietly with Remus and Tonks.

I was about to ask where Keena had gone when I spotted her weaving through the crowd towards us, Draco following behind her. His eyes were glued to the ground and he looked miserable.

"Are we all here?" she asked once she was within earshot.

"I think so," Sirius answered, straightening up and looking around. "Yeah, that's all of us."

"Brilliant, let's go home," James nodded, turning and leading our large group off of the platform.

We said our goodbyes to the Weasley's and to Hermione before we made our way to an apparation point in a secluded alleyway. The whole way there, Draco had not said a single word. Remus offered me his arm and we were whisked away to Potter Mansion. My feet hit the tile of the kitchen with a soft thud and we were immediately greeted by dozens of 'hello's' from the house elves which echoed every time another pair of feet hit the floor.

I glanced over to the other end of the kitchen where Sirius had landed with Draco to see the latter's upper lip curl in disdain for a moment before he erased his face of all emotion.

It was going to be a long summer.

**Ah! It's finished! Phew! Okay. Now, onto the next one! It is titled ****Promised Lies**** and you can find it on my page! Thank you for sticking with it and I hope you keep on reading! Much love!**

**:-D **


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